EweMove and Martin & Co parent firm sets up mortgage arm

The Property Franchise Group - which operates five High Street agency brands and the EweMove hybrid - has set up a financial services division.

It looks set to handle mortgages for the agency brands to offer clients.

TPFG has told its shareholders that it intends to pursue a "buy and build" strategy to develop this new division, targeting the acquisition of “quality financial services businesses which are relevant to the group’s core business.”

This division will operate as a subsidiary TPFG and will service its existing franchisees.

“This strategy seeks to enable the [new] division to capitalise on the significant volume of leads generated by the core business, whilst the property franchisees are able to generate further revenue without adding to fixed overheads” says the franchise giant.

Financial services will be available as a new franchise opportunity, with TPFG holding the master franchise rights and delivering to its franchisees a separate financial services brand, back office systems, a supply of  "whole of market" mortgage products and a compliance function.

To kick start the division, TPFG has acquired a 72.25 per cent stake in Auxilium Partnership Limited, a protection advisory business.

Auxilium Partnership was launched by Mark Graves in March 2019 with the aim to enfranchise, educate and encourage intermediaries, such as mortgage brokers, to develop their protection business.

It’s been announced that Graves, who has 30 years experience in life assurance, will now lead TPFG’s financial services division.