Chelsea acquires Britannia Capital Securities

Chelsea Building Society, the UK’s 6th largest building society today announces that it has acquired Britannia Capital Securities LLP, an independent firm of secured loan and mortgage brokers, based in Swindon.

Britannia Capital Securities, which will now be known as BCS Loans and Mortgages Limited (‘BCS’) has been trading since 1994 and specialises in arranging both first and second charge mortgages for customers.

BCS will maintain its relationships with a range of specialist lenders and will continue to be run by its existing management team. The acquisition includes the wholly owned subsidiary, the Loan and Mortgage Directory.

“We are delighted to have acquired a growing player in the secured loan market. The cultural fit between Chelsea and BCS is an important factor in our decision to purchase” said Richard Hornbrook, Director and Chief Executive of Chelsea. “BCS will bring an extra dimension to the Chelsea Group. There are a number of obvious synergies between our businesses and we are looking forward to developing BCS’s business further”.

“The purchase of Britannia Capital Securities is in line with our strategy to diversify the business cautiously into new business markets.” Hornbrook continued.

Nick Yalden, one of Britannia Capital Securities’ founding partners, commented “Britannia Capital Securities has been a very successful and entrepreneurial business for the last 13 years. We appreciate that in a competitive marketplace, there is a constant need to be one step ahead of the game and we believe that our partnership with Chelsea gives us that advantage. There are great synergies between the two organisations”.

Yalden, who will become CEO of BCS Loans and Mortgages, continued “David Salsbury, Nigel Griffiths and I, Britannia Capital Securities partners, are all looking forward to working alongside Chelsea. We have really committed staff, who remain an important factor in this business and will continue to play a major role in BCS’s future. For everyone at BCS it is business as usual and that means doing what we do best – providing great service to our customers”.

Asgard Partners, Addleshaw Goddard and KPMG advised Chelsea Building Society on the transaction. Britannia Capital Securities was advised by Bentley Jennison and Clark Holt.