The Openwork Partnership has reported a record £5.7bn in mortgage completions in the first quarter as a result of the stamp duty holiday and adviser recruitment.
According to the network, around 245 mortgage and protection advisers and a further 46 appointed representative (AR) firms joined The Openwork Partnership in the first three months of the year.
Its recruitment and growth director, Stephen Wildgoose, said the network recruited its highest number of ARs and advisers in 2020 and Q1 2021 since 2009.
New firms that joined the network included Andrews Property Group, taking the total of mortgage and protection advisers to over 2,500.
John Cupis, mortgage director at The Openwork Partnership, said: “The record first quarter for mortgage completions puts us on course for another strong year with the stamp duty holiday and mortgage guarantee scheme providing a boost for business.
“The mortgage business at The Openwork Partnership is really benefiting from the growth in recruitment and the addition of new firms and advisers who are helping to drive expansion.”
The network said its first quarter record for mortgage completions followed a 3 per cent rise in total mortgage completions to £19bn last year, despite the housing market being effectively closed for two months due to the pandemic.
This week Accord Mortgages also reported a record month for mortgage applications.
The intermediary-only lender said April had been its busiest month for new applications, after the previous record in March for both applications and completions.
Jeremy Duncombe, managing director of Accord, said: “The market has continued at pace since the turn of the year and demand for moving or buying a home has seemingly only increased, despite the pandemic.
“We’ve had two exceptional months for mortgages, resulting in our largest ever number of applications and completions.”
In January the Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association predicted gross mortgage lending to rise to £283bn this year, 17.3 per cent ahead of last year’s level and with lending for house purchase being the main driver.
chloe.cheung@ft.com
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