Entourage snaps up third brokerage

According to Damien Roylance (managing director at Entourage Finance) and Mr Hymet (managing director at Logical Choice Finance), the merger will bring together the “experienced and knowledgeable” brokers under one company brand, providing new services to existing Logical Choice Finance clients, including property advisory, buyer’s and vendor’s advocacy, and a broader customer service and support team.

Mr Hymet will join Entourage for the transition period, before retiring.

Speaking to The Adviser, My Roylance said that he first met Mr Hymet through industry contacts and learned that he had been looking for a succession plan as he neared retirement. With the two companies both aggregating under LMG, the principals were able to negotiate a merger between the two businesses.

He commented: “Logical Choice Finance will be rebranded to Entourage, with John Hymet continuing in the business until such time as he’s ready to exit the industry. In the meantime, he’s working closely with his existing clients and the amazing broker team at Entourage.

“It’s a privilege to be able to keep growing this business and bringing on experienced and knowledgeable brokers.

“We’re delighted to welcome John and the Logical Choice Finance team to the Entourage family.”

The merger marked the second purchase that Entourage has undertaken this year, after it acquired Odyssey Financial (in which all of the existing staff, including the previous owner Nicholas Dom and the brokers and administration team moved to the Entourage brand) and built on from Entourage’s acquisition of Marshall Condon’s brokerage Neue Black Finance in 2019.

Speaking of the rapid-fire purchases, Mr Roylance said: “Entourage is undergoing a period of growth at the moment as we expand to new areas including Mornington Peninsula and Byron Bay, with plans to open more offices across the country.

“A company like Entourage is perfectly placed to provide fantastic ongoing customer service to these existing clients with our expanded client services team.”

The move marked the latest in a string of consolidations in the mortgage broking industry in the past year. The trend came amid a confluence of several factors, including the natural attrition of the industry as the first movers of the 35-year-old broking industry retire; ongoing costs and compliance burdens placing strains on smaller operations; and as more borrowers seek the services of brokers.

Other notable mergers that have taken place this year include UFinancial’s acquisition of Court Financial Services (CFS) and the move by Smartmove Professional Mortgage Advisors to become part of Viridian Financial Group Limited.

Several brokers have recently told The Adviser that they believe the industry will likely see diminishing numbers of independent brokerages – a trend that aggregation group AFG echoed to its investors.

Mr Roylance agreed that he believed more brokerages would continue to merge in the coming years.

He said: “I think there will be more consolidation in 2024, bigger groups seem to be getting stronger ... I know I’ve spoken to some mates about joining as I feel we would be better together.

“I think we are going to see some industry consolidation as more senior business owners start to consider their exit strategy within the industry.”

Do you think the industry will see brokerages merging in the year ahead? Let us know in the comments below

[Related: AFG ‘positioned for industry consolidation’]