Mortgage robo-adviser MortgageGym has successfully completed a funding round of £3.8 million.
Investors included LSL Property Services plc (LSL), which is the parent company of the UK’s second largest mortgage network.
FinTech pioneer GoCompare Group has also increased its shareholding as part of this investment round.
Following the LSL investment MortgageGym is valued at £12m despite only having fully launched its proposition earlier this year.
The funding will enable ongoing investment in the company’s development of mortgage robo-advice and artificial intelligence services.
The investment round included the obtaining of FCA approval and follows a seed funding round of £2.5m, which was completed in 2017, and almost a year of integration with GoCompare’s services.
In addition, MortgageGym has entered into a strategic partnership agreement with LSL mortgage broker networks which, at the end of 2017, had around 2,298 mortgage advisers and arranged £21bn in lending in 2017.
MortgageGym is a regulated mortgage robo-adviser, offering a free 60-second mortgage-matcher and mortgage advice, which is enhanced through its full integration with Experian credit files, and mortgage lenders’ live scorecards.
The FCA-authorised service allows homebuyers to complete their mortgage application online in 15 minutes through a free, hybrid advice website.
Its instant mortgage-matching perfectly positions it to answer a recent call by the FCA to further support mortgage applicants, helping them identify and easily compare the mortgages they are qualified to reasonably win.
The investment sees the promotion of Jeremy Moll to the company’s managing director from chief commercial officer.
Moll has over 28 years of experience in the UK mortgage and insurance industries. He was part of the senior team that created CompareTheMarket.com and latterly BeagleStreet.com.
“Our funding round, strategic partnerships and continuing unique proposition put us in a strong position to truly revolutionise the UK mortgage market,” said MortgageGym co-founder John Ingram.
“Other digital mortgage platforms are constrained by their aim to organically grow their customer-base and build broker support at the same time, while our compelling fusion of ‘bricks and clicks’ will allow us to rapidly alleviate homebuyers of the uncertainty and stress of mortgage applications on a national scale.
“We have carefully chosen investors that not only bring funds, but invaluable, symbiotic business models and expertise.
“As a result, we do not need to invest in costly customer acquisition or building a broker-base. This places us in a much stronger position than our peers as it allows us to invest the new capital in improving our technology – thereby improving customers’ choices.
“We are thrilled that the business will benefit from the new investment and we are delighted that Jeremy has been promoted to the company’s managing drector during this exciting time. The UK mortgage market is poised for digital revolution and we are here to drive it”.
Moll will also join the company board, along with Ingram who, prior to founding MortgageGym in 2016, was founder of Burlington Group.
Co-founder David Vertannes will also join the board, as will investor directors Jon Round, Faisal Galaria and Gaby Salem.
The strategic partnerships agreements with GoCompare and LSL build on MortgageGym’s existing commercial arrangements with conveyancer MyHomeMove.
Essential partner services are seamlessly integrated into the MortgageGym user journey, supporting consumers in all aspects of their home move.