OneDome has acquired Coreco Group for a “seven-figure sum” pending approval by the FCA.
Coreco directors Andrew Montlake and Julian Ingall and the existing management team will remain in their roles following the takeover by the digital homebuying platform.
The pair will also join OneDome’s management team to help steer the strategy of the wider group.
Mortgage Advice Bureau chief executive Peter Brodnicki, one of the original backers of Coreco, played a key role in securing this deal and will exchange his shareholding in Coreco for shares in OneDome.
Coreco was founded in 2009 by former Cobalt Capital directors Montlake, Matt Lowndes and Francois Taljaard.
They were soon joined by further former senior colleagues from Cobalt, including Ingall, Rob Gill and Roy Hardy after the original brokerage became a casualty of the financial crisis.
Despite drawing the name “Coreco” from the “core of Cobalt”, the new brand soon forged its own identity and began scooping mortgage awards.
Gill left to found Altura Finance in 2018, where he was later joined by Taljaard, while Lowndes moved to MAB in 2019 to lead on digital innovation.
OneDome was formed in 2017 by Babek Ismayil with a mission to build a “seamless, all-in-one homebuying platform”.
Since then it has acquired Nethouseprices as well as mortgage and financial advisory businesses Contractor Wealth Management, CMME Mortgage and Protection and Albany Park.
It provides mortgage advice, conveyancing, homebuyers’ insurance, with cases overseen by a dedicated project manager, for a fixed fee.
Montlake, currently managing director of Coreco, will become chief executive of Coreco Group.
His focus will be on growing the company, its introducer base, employer financial education programmes, self-employed division and looking at potential broker acquisitions.
He will remain the group’s spokesman.
Montlake says: “This acquisition marks a significant milestone for Coreco and is the latest step of our exciting journey.
“In an increasingly changeable market, our hard-working Coreco family deserve the stability and opportunities that being with a bigger group can bring, without any change to our fantastic brand or company DNA.
“We have been looking for an investment partner for some time, and having spoken with Babek for several years, I have been continually impressed with both his passion and ingenuity.”
As Coreco’s commercial director, Ingall will be tasked with growing the specialist and commercial team, its introducer base and looking for acquisition targets.
He says: “There are so many opportunities in the mortgage market, especially within the specialist and commercial arena, and it has been frustrating to not always have had the chance to make the most of these. “This deal changes that and gives us both the impetus and clout to really make a difference.
Ismayil says: “Bringing Coreco into the OneDome family is transformative for our vision of seamless property transactions.
“We are thrilled to welcome Andrew Montlake and Julian Ingall to our executive management team to drive our ambitious growth plans.
“With the OneDome family now consisting of 170 members, including over 70 advisers, we are transforming homebuying for good.”
