Belvoir's £2m acquisition 'aims to mitigate effect of fees ban'

Belvoir, which has over 300 high street offices, has acquired Brook Financial Services Ltd, which trades as Mortgage Advice Bureau, in a move which it says will help it mitigate the effect of the proposed government ban on letting fees on tenants.

One estimate puts the acquisition at £2m. 

The franchise agency’s executive chairman, Mike Goddard, who founded Belvoir in 1995, is standing down as chief executive officer but will serve as chairman. 

Dorian Gonsalves, with the company since 2005 and most recently as chief operating officer, has taken over as chief executive officer with immediate effect.

“The acquisition of Brook Financial Services, which trades as the Mortgage Advice Bureau, is a very exciting strategic development for Belvoir, and will enable our franchisees to further grow their businesses by offering a range of financial services to clients, which will in turn help to mitigate some of the impact of the upcoming ban on tenant fees” says Gonsalves.

“I am very much looking forward to my new role as Chief Executive Officer. This will enable me to see the Group through a period of growth, and implement further new initiatives, which we already have in the pipeline. Brook Financial Services has already successfully provided mortgage services to our Newton Fallowell network and we intend for similar products and services to be rolled out across the whole network” he adds.

Michelle Brook, founder and sole shareholder and director of Brook Financial Services, will remain full time managing director of Brook. Her Barnsley-based team has 32 staff and advisers operating within the Mortgage Advice Bureau network.