The new owners, Phoenix Group, will keep the SMS name and have also retained a number of key SMS staff with Ian Balfour, recently Sales & Marketing Director, heading up the new company and developing future strategy.
Ian Balfour said "It is an obvious delight to have new investors who see a long term future for SMS, which has been a market leading brand built on service, quality, partnerships, innovation and trust. We will be looking to build on the relationships and reputation of the old company. This is a long term venture for the new owners, who see SMS as becoming again a market leader when the industry slowly recovers. Our vision is based on SMS delivering market leading technology, service, products and compliant audit trails to intermediaries, networks, lenders, funders and the regulator.”
He added “We will be setting up a legal trust for broker commissions on new business and the new owners are working with customers to ensure that all commissions outstanding from the old company can be resolved and paid. The new company will be leaner, more efficient and will lead on delivering sustainable and leading products which will benefit the end consumer and the introducer. We are all in for a hard journey over the next few years, however with the support being shown by the new owners and the goodwill of long standing introducer supporters, we are confident that we can generate revenues to sustain and build a new business for the future.”
Paul Wreford from Phoenix said "SMS has always stood for the best that the industry has to offer. We are sure that with new funding and with a stripped down business model, which retains the best of the old business, SMS can again be the market leader for products and service in the new environment we are now facing.”
