Southampton: Mortgage broker helped by Portland

When the credit crunch dealt Southampton mortgage broker Mortgage Workout a double blow, it turned to Whiteley-based Portland Business Recovery for expert advice on measures to rescue the business.

After first being indirectly affected by the reduced number of sourceable mortgage products available on the market and the longer lead times funders required to process applications, the company was then directly impacted when an agreement to provide working capital funding by its network was withdrawn at the last minute, crippling cash flow.

Mike Fortune, director of Portland, stepped in to secure the operation’s future. He explained: “The company had 23 staff of which 20 were made redundant on the appointment of the joint administrators. We retained three members of staff to enable us to work through the pipeline of mortgage applications and generate funds for creditors. In addition we actively marketed the business for sale as there was a good core business.”

And those measures have been successful as Fortune is hoping to complete a sale shortly which should result in a number of the employee’s being taken back on.

He said: “We are delighted to have played a part in giving this company its future back and some of the employees their jobs back. The positive outcome should also produce a good return for creditors. This would not have been possible if a sale was not negotiated and the business not maintained during the administration period.

“Companies that are struggling should seek help at the earliest opportunity and we might be able to help them adopt measures that can minimise the impact of the difficult times they are facing before it is too late. In this instance we were able to help Mortgage Workout survive and we hope our expertise and support will help more businesses avoid closure against the current harsh economic backdrop.”