Click sticks to expansion plans

Click, the online broker specialising in secured lending and life insurance products, is continuing its launch into the mortgage market, with a plan to focus on the adverse sector, despite the recent turmoil in the market.

The insurance adviser is sticking to plans to either purchase a broker, recruite a senior professional to grow the business or form a strategic partnership with another company, as first revealed in Mortgage Solutions (16/07/07, p1).

Steve Teague, chief executive of Click, said he felt there was significant potential in the mortgage market.

He said: "We want either to recruit a senior individual with expertise in the mortgage market or else buy a broker firm within the next six months, but we are open-minded as to which option we choose. We already work with other organisations, so this will not be new for us."

Stuart Cocks, product manager at Purely Mortgages, said if Click wanted to get expertise in the mortgage arena, teaming up with a broker was good in the interim period, and a broker is likely to want to do business with them. But he felt expansion into the sub-prime market could be a gamble.

He added: "It is a good idea to move straight into the prime market at the moment. The sub-prime market still needs to settle down. I feel the credit crunch will leave most lenders untouched."