A financial company run by a 33-year-old Plymouth business whizz-kid is on course to advise on £0.5billion worth of products for customers this year after a record month.
Lifetime mortgage specialist Responsible Life advised on a record volume of lifetime mortgages for customers in October 2019, putting it on a run rate of £500million.
Steve Wilkie has masterminded the stunning growth of the equity release business and its off-shoots, with two offices now in Plymouth and about 90 employees.
In October 2019 the company advised on £43million of lifetime mortgages, coming hot on the heels of a bumper quarter for equity release in the UK.
The Equity Release Council reported in October that homeowners had unlocked nearly £11million of property wealth a day from July to September 2019, with overall activity rising by 8% to £988million
It was the busiest quarter in 2019 to date, and Responsible Life’s record October suggests the fourth quarter could also prove to be a bumper period.
Mr Wilkie, managing director, said: ““We are thrilled to have advised on such a tremendous volume of lifetime mortgages this month. Many of our customers will be using these life changing products to improve or adapt their homes or provide ‘living inheritance’ to their families.
“The lifetime mortgage market is flourishing and we expect to see further growth as customers continue to take advantage of all time low rates and a constantly growing range of products that are becoming increasingly flexible over time.
“What people are realising is that your home doesn’t just have to be your castle — it is also a major part of retirement planning that unlocks options many didn’t realise they had.”
Mr Wilkie founded financial advice business Responsible Life, at Estover’s Airport Business Park, with business partner Paul Starkey in 2010.
He moved the HQ to the Mills Bakery, at Plymouth’s Royal William Yard, in 2013, and it has thrived, with another office in the coty centre’s in Princess Street, with a small team also in Chepstow and about 70 financial advisers based around the country.
Responsible Life provides advice about equity release, a way for people aged 55 and older to free-up cash from their properties, and then assigns them to a plan.
Responsible Lending, an equity release lender of which Mr Wilkie is chairman, was launched in 2017, after receiving Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) approval.
It provides an actual equity release product but customers of Responsible Life are not tied to it.
Responsible Lending is based in 4,000sq ft of offices in Princess Court, Plymouth.
The overall group is the third biggest company in the sector in the UK, according to 2018 data.
