It has been confirmed by its administrator that mortgagebundles.com was placed into administration six months after its launch.
The website, launched in February this year, gave mortgage lenders the opportunity to bid for loan business, and bundled together borrowers with similar profiles by asking nine questions. Lenders could then bid on the bundles.
A statement on the mortgagebundles.com website confirmed it had decided to put its auction activity on hold, as it was ‘looking to provide consumers with better and quicker deals than those currently being received via the existing auction process’.
David Hollingworth, head of communications at London & Country, admitted it would have been hard for the business model to gather enough attention. He said: “The model that it had in place meant lenders were vying for business based on bundles of borrowers. Nationwide Building Society was part of the website, but was never going to put up product exclusives. I didn’t see it as a major force within the market as it would be hard to gather momentum for that type of auction, but it is never nice to see companies struggle.”
Thomas Reeh, chief executive officer at blackandwhite.co.uk, cast doubt on companies who focused their attention on the internet for their conversions. He said: “We have a large web presence, but we close a miniscule amount of business that way. The internet is good for providing information, but it doesn’t equal knowledge, and most people, including the financially astute, prefer to have a face-to-face meeting. It’s a shame the company is experiencing difficulties.”
