Matthew Arena, managing director at Exclusive Connections, admitted that technological and product enhancements, along with the changing needs of borrowers and lenders would make it hard for regional packagers and small distributors. He said: “The way the market is developing, regional packagers and distributors are going to find it increasingly difficult to compete with larger players. Personal service alone – smaller firms’ biggest asset – will not be enough.”
Paul Hunt, head of marketing at Platform, said: “The role of the packager is changing and more are now seen as distributors. There is still room for regional packagers, especially in the non-conforming and specialist sectors as they have a greater knowledge of these areas. Smaller organisations are also good at making and maintaining relationships.”
Exclusive Connections also confirmed its 2006 results, revealing that the organisation completed £2 billion of mortgage business in 2006, a 50 per cent increase in completions from the 2005 results.
