The referral service, part of over-55s financial solutions provider Key Retirement, believes the growth in registrations demonstrates an increasing demand for retirement lending solutions from a wide range of different client profiles.
Advisers using the referral service earn on average £1,300 on completion of the equity release plan.
The strong growth in the market – Equity Release Council figures for the first quarter showed an all-time high of £325 million following nearly £1.4 billion in 2014 – saw almost 2,000 adviser firms complete sales last year. That number is forecast to grow further this year as new lenders and new products help to fuel customer demand.
Will Hale, director at Key Partnerships, said:
“The growth in equity release sales in the past three months is fantastic news and we anticipate 2015 being another record year. This is good news for advisers and their clients looking to secure a more comfortable retirement.
"For those that want to advise in this market, there is excellent support available from lenders and the Equity Release Council to achieve the necessary qualifications and maintaining competency. Other advisers may decide that referring to a trusted specialist partner may be a more commercially viable way of ensuring their clients receive the best outcomes.
“Through a simple online or telephone service advisers can refer their clients to us, who will then receive face-to-face advice from the UK's leading equity release broker - taking all of the regulatory and compliance worries away, while helping retention of a valuable client relationship. Our access to exclusive deals and whole-of-market expertise helps ensure optimal outcomes for customers, delivers attractive referral fees for advisers and provides protection from compliance and regulatory risk.”
