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The private equity firm has acquired three brokerages and two loan books in the past six months.
Boutique private equity firm Recludo Group has completed the acquisition of three brokerages and two loan books in the mortgage and finance broking industry since March.
In the past few months, Recludo – a new boutique private equity firm focused on investments in the mortgage and finance broking industry – completed the purchase of Victoria-based brokerages Phillips Basile Ivory (PBI) Mortgages and Vision Finance Australia, as well as an unnamed third brokerage, for undisclosed sums.
The two loan book purchases were rolled into one of the acquisitions.
Recludo bought a majority stake in the mortgage arm of PBI Mortgages, a Melbourne-based brokerage that offers home loans, refinancings, and loan restructuring.
Melbourne-headquartered Vision Finance Australia, which was co-founded by Katrina Lagos, offers mortgages to first home buyers, investors, and those looking to refinance.
The acquisitions see Recludo collectively managing over $1 billion in loans, with a pipeline of another $1.2 billion awaiting completion.
“We are delighted to announce some great additions to the Recludo family and deliver on the expectations we set in launching Recludo,” CEO Tim Brown said.
“There’s a lot more to do but a couple of the acquisitions have been on our books for the last few months and have already shown some strong growth.
“We have a strong pipeline of opportunities and a few that are pretty close to being locked away, so momentum is building.”
Founded in 2024, Recludo invests in brokerages and specialises in strategic succession planning.
In December, the company outlined plans to invest in 50 brokerages over the next five years.
The business was launched by industry veterans Brown (CEO), Ash Playsted (general manager, broker performance), Tom Roche (chief operating officer), and Jon Corney (chief financial officer).
Its strategy is to take a controlling stake (typically 51 per cent) in broking businesses and provide resources and consulting services to “rapidly increase revenue, profit, and value growth”.
It generally targets established brokerages – those that typically have more than $300 million in funds under management – that want to scale up quickly (with Recludo looking to grow a business by three or four times its value).
In March, Recludo appointed former AFG GM and Fintelligence CEO, Chris Slater, as its inaugural head of strategic growth.
[Related: The future of mortgage broking: Why succession planning matters more than ever]
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