Move is to expand UK presence with latest investment
BetterHome Group is expanding its investment in the UK intermediary market by funding Josewin’s acquisition of Mortgage Support Services (MSS).
Josewin is the parent company of HLPartnership and a number of mortgage and protection intermediary businesses, while MSS is the group behind Stonebridge Mortgage Solutions and a range of mortgage, protection and technology businesses.
The latest deal follows BetterHome’s previous investment in HLPartnership in 2024 and would be subject to Financial Conduct Authority change in control approval.
One of the UK’s largest intermediary networks
Alongside HLPartnership, the acquisition would make the wider group one of the UK’s largest intermediary network businesses and the investment would fund the growth of MSS and Stonebridge Mortgage Solutions with a focus on expanding teams, member proposition, technology, and relationships across the industry.
Stonebridge and HLPartnership will continue to operate separately, each maintaining their own brand, proposition and culture. However, the company said that in the future there may be opportunities to work more closely together where there are synergies and it and creates value.
Rudi Botha, Group CEO of BetterHome Group, said: “When BetterHome Group invested in Josewin, the parent of HLPartnership, in 2024, it was driven by our belief in the strength of the UK mortgage market and in the power of partnership.
“We saw a strong alignment of values and a shared ambition to support successful mortgage and protection businesses for the long term. The agreement to acquire MSS is the next step in that journey.”
Rob Clifford, a founding director of Mortgage Support Services (MSS) and chief executive of Stonebridge since 2019, will remain in position. “In BetterHome, we have a new parent which has decades of experience in the mortgage sector, understands the importance of the relationships we have built with our member firms and partners, and fully supports our strategy,” he said.
