Experian buys out N4 Solutions

N4 Solutions is based in Cirencester, Glos, and will become part of Experian’s Consumer Business.

Founded in 1999, N4 Solutions provides software, which enables lenders and financial services providers to undertake compliant effective sales engagements across all distribution channels. N4 Solutions’ products cover the sale of mortgages, general insurance and financial planning, taking the consumer from initial contact through to fully compliant purchase across all distribution channels. Mortgage offer at point of sale is a key part of the N4 proposition and typically involves the use of a number of Experian credit services and products in order to deliver immediate decisions.

N4 Solutions’ clients include Barclays, Nationwide, Intrinsic Financial Services, Portman Building Society, Nottingham Building Society and the Norwich & Peterborough Building Society.

N4 Solutions will be integrated with Experian’s existing mortgage group to create a new division within its Consumer Business. The combined unit will leverage N4’s vertical market knowledge with Experian’s expertise and products in application processing, decision analytics, lead generation and property valuation models. In addition, the N4 platform provides Experian with an opportunity to develop further its insurance and wealth management capabilities.

Announcing the acquisition, Tiku Patel, managing director of Experian UK & Ireland, said: "N4 Solutions has a first class range of products and services through which it has built a well-earned reputation in the mortgage and financial services industry. Together with its skills base and deep mortgage sector knowledge, it is a great strategic fit with Experian, with clear synergies with our client base and core credit decisioning solutions to create a full origination solution covering risk management and cross-selling in a regulatory compliant environment.

"This acquisition reinforces Experian's position and commitment to developing the very best in value-added services. We believe it will bring considerable benefits to clients of both Experian and N4 Solutions and enable us to build on N4 Solutions’ mortgage origination products, while, at the same time, enabling Experian to deepen ties with our existing clients and create industry standard decision analytics solutions to meet the constantly evolving needs of the financial services market.”

Steven Jones, CEO of N4 Solutions, who will lead the new division, added: "Many of our clients already benefit from Experian’s consumer information and credit related products and services so the combination of Experian and N4 Solutions creates a complete and unique mortgage origination proposition as well as the capability to continue to create broader innovative solutions for the financial services industry.

“As a part of Experian, we will have even greater access to its information, expertise and investment in order to become the standard for the industry. Together, we can deliver a unique and innovative proposition to meet the growing demand for sophisticated, integrated systems driven by legal compliance, the desire for flexibility and speed of process, changing consumer behaviour and opportunities to reduce costs.”