Introducing Chris Grenan

Sixty Plus are delighted to welcome Chris Grenan as Business Development Manager.

Chris has more than 30 years experience in financial services and will be developing relationships with IFAs and solicitors as well as arranging seminars with interested groups.

David Wright, Managing Director, said "Chris joins us at a time when economic woes are constantly in the headlines. However, Equity Release is proving more resilient than other sectors and we are optimistic about the coming year."

We aim to make Sixty Plus a major name in Equity Release in the South East and we believe relationships with IFAs is key to this aim. With advisers in Surrey, Kent and Essex we are well placed to cover the whole region."

Chris can be reached on 07949 949590 or click here to email Chris.

ERSA formally launches

The Equity Release Solicitors’ Alliance (ERSA) has formally launched today, with each of the body’s members committing to a charter outlining their promise to provide independent, personal level of service in plain English, reports Mortgage Solutions.

Other commitments include that clients will receive a personal consultation, fair and balanced reports in writing, service level agreements, and all members will offer a no-completion, no fee service. For IFAs, ERSA also guarantees that intermediaries will be paid their fees on the day of completion.

ERSA is a group of established law firms which specialise within the area of equity release, which has joined together to promote the need for homeowners to have access to independent, competitively-priced expert legal advice before they take up an equity release plan.

Claire Barker, chairman at ERSA, commented “If current predictions are correct, the equity release market will double in the next five years, and by 2016 it is estimated that 42% of the population in England and Wales will be eligible to take out an equity release plan. With the market expected to grow at such a rate it is essential that all of these consumers are receiving the best possible legal advice before proceeding with a plan.

“Solicitors have to remain independent to ensure that homeowners only take out an equity release product once they have carefully considered the pros and cons of going ahead from an unbiased third party. This will also help to ensure that the future reputation of the industry remains intact.”

Sixty Plus comment: We welcome this development as independent legal advice is integral to the process of arranginging an equity release plan. It will help us to demonstrate to clients those firms that are as committed to equity release as ourselves.

Sixty Plus joins 'Buy with Confidence'

We are pleased to announce that Sixty Plus has been accepted into Surrey Trading Standards' Buy With Confidence scheme.

All the businesses in the scheme have been vetted and approved by Trading Standards to ensure that they operate in a legal, honest and fair way.

"We are keen to go the extra mile to show potential clients that we are the people to see for honest, independent advice on Equity Release." said Managing Director of Sixty Plus, David Wright.

Equity release remains resilient

Equity release suffered a 9 per cent decline in value of lending and 4 per cent fall in plans sold in 2008, according to Safe Home Income Plans, reports Financial Adviser.

In its full year results to 31 December, Ship said despite the drop in lending, equity release was remaining resilient compared with mainstream lending which, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders, declined by 30 per cent during the same period.

The results showed the total value of equity release business written in 2008 reached almost £1.096bn, a 9 per cent decrease on last year's figure of £1.21bn

The number of new policies sold declined 4 per cent, from 29,293 in 2007 to 28,224 in 2008.

Sales of lifetime mortgage products dropped by 2 per cent year-on-year, from 27,764 plans sold in 2007 to 27,161 in 2008.

Meanwhile, the value of advances from lifetime mortgage products fell by 8 per cent from almost £1.128bn in 2007 to £1.038bn in 2008.

Home reversion products saw a decline in 2008, with the number of policies down 30 per cent to 1063, compared with 1529 in 2007.

The value of equity released with these products also declined 30 per cent from £82.6m in 2007 to £57.4m in 2008.

Almost two-thirds of products sold in 2008 were through intermediaries rather than through direct sales, something that remained unchanged from the previous year.

Andrea Rozario, director general of Ship, said: "A slight decline in business volumes in 2008 was to be expected given the turbulence in the economy in the last 12 months.

"Overall we are pleased with how the sector has held up, especially in comparison to mainstream mortgages."

Providers tip upswing in equity release market

Confidence in the equity release market remains high, with over 90 per cent of providers optimistic about the outlook for new business in 2009, mainly due to interest rate reductions, reports Financial Adviser.

Equity release providers have a measured confidence in the growth of the market for the year ahead, according to research from equity release trade body Safe Home Income Plans (Ship).

In the fourth annual Ship member survey, over 90 per cent of providers said the volume of new business would increase in the next year.

Looking to the long term, the general predictions given were that the market would grow by over £200m a year, increasing to £1.4bn in 2009 and £1.7bn in 2010.

Over two thirds of providers (67 per cent) felt that a strong driver for this growth would be interest rate reductions on equity release plans in the next quarter.

The research found that the majority of lenders predict most growth to be in flexible drawdown options.

Providers believe that drawdown will account for 70 per cent of the market by 2010, with 80 per cent of respondents pushing for more providers to offer a drawdown option.

Less than half of those polled (42 per cent) think that the lifetime mortgage business will increase in the first quarter of 2009, and in a departure from the 2008 predictions, 83 per cent think the number of home reversions sold will decrease or remain static in this period.

This market growth will offer IFAs real opportunities during 2009 - 89 per cent of providers have already seen the number of referrals from IFAs increase in the past year.

Andrea Rozario, director general of Ship, said: "The wider economic situation means that 2009 will be an unpredictable year. Many repercussions from 2008 will continue to be felt across the industry as a whole.

"This survey has shown that Ship members remain confident in the future of the equity release market, as they consider the long term prospects.

"The jump in the number of IFA referrals to providers shows that although there is still a need to educate IFAs about the benefits of equity release, the industry is coming together to recognise and promote the benefits of equity release."