“We’ve had a fantastic response from the market for our new competitively priced products,” said Alison Hutchinson, Managing Director of Kensington Mortgages. “Our packaging partners are able to generate more business from their brokers, as our products are now appearing in the best buy tables and we have no Higher Lending Charges on any of our products. We have also had great response from packagers now they are able to receive applications electronically from brokers through Kensington Online – a major breakthrough in our market.”
Harpal Singh, operations director for Optoma Broker Solutions added, “I think the Kensington Choices products are awesome. With the significantly different criteria on Simple and Extra Choices, there is plenty of scope for us to promote both product sets and reach more brokers in the process. For us it is the perfect opportunity to drive volume.”
Online applications from brokers direct to packagers have also started to flow through Kensington’s new eCommerce platform, Kensington Online (at kmc.co.uk) which gives packagers 48 hours’ head start on processing applications. The first online application was received the day after launch by Solent Mortgage Services, who’s Managing Director, Kelvin Cooper, commented, “To be able to partner a lender like Kensington and for the first deal to come to us is a testament to the hard work on both sides. Our solution, The SMS Porthole, and Kensington Online are a perfect fit to increase business for both companies.”
The ‘Choices’ strategy – a new, broader product range that gives borrowers, brokers and packagers a choice of product features, pricing and access to Kensington’s market-leading service – has been appreciated by packagers who expressly asked Kensington to make all its products available to them. As a result of further discussions with its packaging partners, Kensington has also taken the decision to bring the entry-level packaging support on its Simple Choices product set into line with its Extra Choices products.
“Kensington's new range is very competitive and I am pleased to say that we will be distributing both the Simple Choices and Extra Choices product sets” said Michael Clapper, CEO of the Enterprise Group. “The packager support and technology in place makes sense and the competitive pricing will be good news for our introducers and their clients.”
