N1 to sell trail book

The transaction is valued at approximately $2.2 million, representing twice the value of trail commissions received in 2018 financial year. 

“The company considers the transaction as an attractive offer with regard to the current size of the book of trail commissions, its rate of diminution, in light of the current economic conditions (including record-low interest rates) and the resulting income the company expects the book to generate,” N1 stated in its ASX disclosure. 

The transaction is conditional upon approval from mortgage aggregator Finsure and is expected to be completed by the end of August. 

N1 said it plans to use the proceeds of the transaction to support the growth of its commercial lending activities and for working capital. 

The company has been ramping up commercial lending activities, having launched the One Lending Fund in February to provide short-term commercial loans to small and medium-sized enterprises in Australia. It has since claimed that SME demand for short-term commercial loans has continued to “outstrip” its supply of capital. 

The latest transaction will not impact future upfront and trail commissions on mortgages aggregated through Finsure, the company noted, and there will be no other change to N1’s residential mortgage broking business. 

“The company will continue to broker mortgages and over time will build a new book of trailing commissions,” N1 said. 

In July, N1 also announced the establishment of a joint venture with Smartkey Property, which offers a “full service settlement solution” to developers and agencies in Australia, New Zealand, the UK and the US. Smartkey has reportedly settled more than 6,000 properties around the world with a combined value of over $4.5 billion. 

N1’s CEO and executive chair, Ren Wong, said that Loan 77 would allow Smartkey to refer clients to N1 brokers. 

In addition, the company in July launched a new suite of self-branded home loans, which comprises prime, specialist and low-doc loans, including expatriate and interest-only loans. It also offers loans with an 85 per cent loan-to-value ratio with no lenders mortgage insurance.

“[The suite of loans] will be offered to N1H’s mortgage broking client base and provides the company with the opportunity to have better control of the loan application post-settlement process whilst leveraging its existing resources, including N1H’s internal credit team and operational capabilities of the business,” the company said in a previous ASX disclosure. 

[Related: N1 launches new mortgage suite and joint venture]