Referral fee offer for OnTheMarket agents via development deals

OnTheMarket has signed a deal with Brickflow, a new comparison site for development finance.  

The portal says the partnership will provide member agents with the ability to connect their property developer clients with lenders and earn referral fees on land deals.

The Brickflow platform is aimed primarily at the SME developer market, which historically has suffered from a lack of choice as well as difficulty in accessing development finance solutions.  

OTM says the deal is the first of its kind amongst portals.

Brickflow states that once an agent registers as a Brickflow user and inputs the developers’ project details, the Brickflow platform compares loans from over 35 lenders.  

By using algorithms and interrogating each lender’s characteristics, Brickflow pairs development finance options with the project.

Brickflow claims that the conversion rate from Heads of Terms to loan completion is over 90 per cent. 

Loan offers range from £150,000 to £150m and are available for residential, commercial and mixed-use new-build, conversion and Permitted Development projects.

OnTheMarket agents who successfully refer leads for development finance via Brickflow will earn commission on the fees resulting from completed deals. 

Up to 50 per cent of relevant fees are on offer for the first deal, and up to 25 per cent for further successful facility applications by the same client.

Using an example of an initial £1.5m development loan, estate agents could earn around £7,500. 

OTM chief executive Jason Tebb says: “This exclusive commercial partnership … is designed to help our estate agents generate meaningful revenues by building on their relationships with their developer clients. 

“A recent survey of our membership showed that 35 per cent of respondents reported that they made less than £150 per month in ancillary revenue from associated professional services such as mortgages, conveyancing and general insurance. 

“We’re aiming to address this with commercial partnerships which are designed to help agents build multiple income streams across all parts of their business. Development finance is a significant opportunity for agents to create more income from an existing part of their business which currently is largely untapped; our new relationship with Brickflow changes that.”

Tebb goes on to say: “There are many agents who have great relationships with local developers and SME housebuilders and some businesses have dedicated New Homes departments which help to generate significant fees. These developers have historically struggled to source funding and make clear comparisons between the options available to them. 

“Brickflow enables these developers to maximise their funding opportunities whilst at the same time galvanizing the relationship with their local estate agent, all via OnTheMarket.”

Ian Humphreys, co-founder and head of finance at Brickflow, adds: “Our team of development finance experts guide developers through the funding application process and can assist wherever required, significantly speeding up the loan approval process, meaning that offers on finance take hours and days, rather than weeks.”