Virgin Money will releasetwo broker portals allowing intermediariesto smoothly transact deals, communicate with one another and share industry news in a multi-million pound investment from the lender.
Using the Intermediary Portal brokers will be able to access the lender’s application system and lending policy on multiple platforms such as iPads.
Using a second portal called Intermediary Exchange brokers will be able to view a trade body news feed, interact with one another on a forum and access information on how to build their own brands.
The Intermediary Portal is currently being used by 100 brokers and will be rolled out across the whole market in three months’ time, while Intermediary Exchange will launch in the summer.
Peter Rogerson, Virgin Money's mortgage director, said: “We are building something called the Intermediary Portal which will have everything the intermediary needs to do business with us.
“They will be able to go onto the portal and access the application system and lending policy without having to go to any different parts of the website.”
He added: “Over the summer we are going to launch something called the Intermediary Exchange. This will be a separate portal that allows individual brokers to access content and share their thoughts.
“We will have news feeds from the trades and the ability to interact through messaging.
“Brokers sometimes feel isolated so we are trying to give them somewhere to reach out.
“Last year we created a Mortgage Credit Directive guide, so we will put on a lot of marketing content on how to build a brand so they can use that to help support their own businesses.”
Last week Virgin Money launched a national advertising campaign in newspapers and radio to promote the benefits of using mortgage intermediaries.
Rogerson has lofty aims for the lender.
He said: “We want to be a top six lender – if we invest heavily in this channel there is no reason we can’t get there.
“We don’t want to stay the same size. Our ambition is to grow faster than the market.”
