Royal London will use Responsible Group to boost its later life lending share and make it “a more accessible option” for borrowers.
The mutual completed taking control of the 60% of the business it did not already own in January — which comprises Responsible Life, a market-leading later life mortgage broker, and Responsible Lending, a later life mortgage lender, for an undisclosed sum.
The move “will enable us to deliver innovative later life solutions and scale the provision of later life lending in what we believe will be a growing market,” says Royal London in its annual results statement.
It adds: “Later life lending is complex by nature and requires specialist advice, but we are keen to make it a more accessible option for those who would benefit from accessing the equity in their home to support their desired standard of living.”
“The transaction strengthens our support for advisers and customers as they look for solutions in funding later life needs.”
Responsible Group, led by chief executive Carlton Hood, offers equity release and retirement interest-only mortgages and was founded in 2010.
Royal London says its annuities new business fell by 15% to £162m over the year, “reflecting higher bond yields which reduced the average value of customers’ pots at retirement”.
Overall, the pensions and investment group lifted its profit share 5.2% to £163m from a year ago, as its investment inflows grew by £4.2bn.
This profit will be distributed to over two million customers who have life and pensions policies with the business in April.
Royal London group chief executive Barry O’Dwyer says: “The breadth and depth of our investment range attracted over £4bn in net inflows, as we grew our membership base, and delivered strong active investment performance while expanding our fund range and international reach.”
