Managing director Philip Burke said that most people in the mortgage industry probably already use SMF rather than Specialist Mortgage Funding, when referring to the company. He added that the firm is aiming to grow over the following six months to a year.
Burke said: “Brokers are currently seeing increasing competition within a stagnating market where margins are contracting and consumers are increasingly footloose. We can help offset this by giving brokers more flexible options, very competitive rates and proc fees, as well as great service levels.
“SMF will continue to offer the niche mortgage market a wide choice of products and online case-tracking. We are looking to expand our broker network by 30 per cent over the next six months and increase business across our full range of services,” Burke added.
Craig Easeman, sales and marketing manager of Exclusive Connections, which provides backing and support to SMF, said: “SMF is well-respected in the market and we are pleased to see it use this opportunity of rebranding and to continue offering its services as a mortgage packager.”
Thomas Reeh, chief executive of the recently rebranded blackandwhite.co.uk, said: “An acronym that keeps to the original name sticks well in the minds of those in the mortgage industry, for example, HBOS and HSBC.
“Keeping it simple means that you are easier to find on the web. Since we rebranded, we’ve experienced a 402 per cent increase in web traffic to date. I believe SMF has made a good move.”
