Deal to give buyer access to £1.5 trillion mortgage market
Better has announced plans to acquire United Kingdom-based digital mortgage broker Trussle with the aim of replicating the success of its digital-first homeownership company in the UK.
Trussle works with over 90 mortgage lenders and provides borrowers advice on mortgage and protection products. The company also captures critical data on customer demand, lender pricing and risk eligibility matrices. Since its launch in 2015, Trussle has sourced over £2.7 billion ($3.8 billion) of mortgage approvals.
In a statement, Better said that Trussle’s experienced management team, local knowledge, and foundational mortgage technology would accelerate Better’s entry into the £1.5 trillion ($2.4 trillion) UK mortgage market.
The deal, terms of which were not disclosed, will also see Trussle boost its revenue profile by developing a pipeline of B2B relationships with Better’s network of real estate agencies and property developer partners. Additionally, it will help Trussle invest in customer acquisition and drive attachment rates across product offerings, including insurance and title services, mostly known as “conveyancing” in the UK.
“We researched the UK market and were surprised to see how we could make it so much better for consumers buying and financing a home for the first time,” said Vishal Garg, founder and CEO of Better. “We found a kindred spirit in the team at Trussle who have developed a platform that we can work alongside to help every Briton own their own home. Making homeownership affordable and accessible for all customers is a key tenet of a well-functioning credit system, and we are here to help grow Trussle and make it even better.”
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“Better and Trussle were both founded on the understanding that consumers increasingly prefer to use online services to shop for and transact on major life purchases. It is 27 years since the world wide web was launched, and most consumer industries have embraced it now, but the UK mortgage market is still characterized by analogue systems and processes. This market should not require consumers to apply for a mortgage five months before the end of the Stamp Duty holiday.” said Trussle CEO Ian Larkin. “We are very excited about becoming part of Better, and we are confident that Trussle’s future looks brighter than ever as part of a large and growing international organization that shares our commitment to making homeownership more simple, fair and accessible for all.”
Larkin will keep his role, and the existing management team will continue to lead Trussle after the acquisition, which is still subject to customary regulatory approvals in the United States and the United Kingdom.
