"August is also looking positive, and the post-lockdown enthusiasm plus stamp duty changes are clearly creating increased demand for advice"
The network said this was a record month for lending applications, with its member firms and their advisers placing over 5,500 cases during the month.
Stonebridge said its purchase/remortgage mix has now returned to a more typical split, with purchase cases accounting for 58% of applications received in July.
Stonebridge also announced continued growth in adviser recruitment, with 22 new advisers joining in July to increase the network’s total adviser headcount to 709. Additionally, Stonebridge says the number of firms who have applied to join, now pending authorisation, is at its highest ever level.
Rob Clifford, chief executive of Stonebridge, commented: “During what has been an incredibly challenging time for all, we are very pleased to be able to announce that July saw our AR firms and advisers place a record amount of lending applications, exceeding the £1bn mark after a very strong June.
“August is also looking positive, and the post-lockdown enthusiasm plus stamp duty changes are clearly creating increased demand for advice which our AR firms are well-placed to take advantage of, with the strong level of support we provide as their network.
“Throughout the year, despite the pandemic, we’ve seen a growing demand for the Stonebridge proposition from other advisory firms which has boosted our recruitment, but it’s also clear that our existing members also want to grow their businesses in order to meet the greater demand, and our recruitment team are highly experienced at helping to make this happen.
“By the 1st August we had been able to bring all furloughed roles back to the business, meaning we are now working again at the full complement of staff.
“All this combined, we feel Stonebridge and Revolution are bouncing back to impressive business levels. Our core aim is to continue to deliver the highest quality of support to our firms and advisers, making sure they can take advantage of the current market and lay the very strongest of foundations for whatever the market may have in store for us.”
