The decision to broaden availability follows a successful ‘launch and learn’ pilot with leading broker networks Thinc and Legal & General, which indicated a healthy appetite amongst their brokers for Platform’s mainstream products.
From today, Monday 23 March, a further seven companies will be able to take advantage of Platform’s competitive range of mainstream products, in addition to Platform’s core specialist range.
The full list of companies with access to Platform’s mainstream range is :
Bluefin (Thinc)
Home of Choice
Intrinsic
Legal & General
Mortgage Intelligence
Openwork
Personal Touch Financial Services (PTFS)
Pink Home Loans
Sesame
The move will provide a more comprehensive proposition to intermediaries looking for competitive mainstream products on behalf of their customers as well as allowing Platform to expand its offering at a time of continuing constraints in the specialist sector.
Commenting on the move, David Tweedy, Platform’s managing director said: “We are delighted to be extending our mainstream proposition following our successful pilot exercise with Thinc and Legal & General. The expansion of our product range is a key element in Platform’s journey from specialist lender to full market intermediary specialist. We have taken the interim step to introduce our mainstream proposition to a wider group of specific distribution partners whilst retaining our appetite to launch them fully market wide in the near future.
“This controlled approach to distribution will allow Platform to monitor and regulate business volumes whilst ensuring the overall customer proposition and customer experience remains consistently strong.
“Our launch into the mainstream sector demonstrates the Britannia Group's commitment to Platform and to the intermediary market and as Platform develops into a broader intermediary specialist, it is our intention to offer mainstream products to intermediaries as well as operating in the specialist lending sector, where demand also remains strong. It is vital that Platform ensures it generates the right volume of business, with the right risk profile and the right pricing for the Britannia Group.”
Martyn Smith, Head of Mortgage Products at Legal & General said: “We’ve been working with Platform for some time and we’re excited to take that partnership a step further. It’s great to see a lender like Platform make the positive move into the mainstream market in the current environment and we have enjoyed working with them during the pilot phase. Lenders know that they can use Legal & General to lend in a controlled and sensible way to our members. We look forward to further products coming on board, both exclusive and shared.”
David Copland, managing director at Pink Home Loans, said: “We are delighted to be working in partnership with Platform to distribute their mainstream product range. It is encouraging to see a lender supporting the intermediary market and I’m confident that the competitive product range will prove to be a popular choice for our network customers and their clients.”
Platform’s customers will not only benefit from a broader and more flexible range of products to suit the changing needs of their end customers but will also be supported by Platform's ‘click’ suite of online facilities which provide a fast and secure process from application through to completion as well as a consistent customer experience.
