Just Mortgages, the financial advisory business of Spicerhaart, the UK’s largest independent estate agency chain, is to become an Appointed Representative (AR) of the Openwork network.

The move will see Just Mortgages, with over 130 advisers, become Openwork’s largest mortgage-focused AR firm.

The business will join Openwork in March 2016 from Legal & General (L&G). The firm currently serves the financial services needs of Spicerhaart clients, across its estate agencies including haart, Darlows, Felicity J Lord, Haybrook, Chewton Rose and Spicer McColl.

Just Mortgages will retain a single-tie arrangement with L&G for protection, while its advisers will have full access to Openwork’s whole-of-market mortgage proposition.

Antony Lark, managing director of Just Mortgages, said: “I have been working with Openwork for over a year on this and I am pleased we have been able to strike up this partnership. We thought long and hard about the best route to take and met with a number of different networks and mortgage clubs, but determined that Openwork’s network model is the best fit for our business now and into the future.”

John Phillips (pictured), national operations director of Spicerhaart, added: “This will be a very beneficial move for our mortgage brokers. Openwork has a cutting edge Point of Sale system which will enable our brokers to transact business more efficiently. Just Mortgages and the wider Spicerhaart Group have exciting plans for growth and we see a strong alignment to Openwork and significant opportunities for both parties to build value. We look forward to working with Mark Duckworth and the team to ensure a smooth transition for our advisers.”

“Just Mortgages is a well-established advisory firm operating through one of the UK’s largest and best-known estate agents and I’m thrilled to welcome its management team and advisers to the network,” said Mark Duckworth, CEO of Openwork.

“This is a compelling partnership that will enable Just Mortgages to benefit from our whole-of-market mortgage proposition and market clout – we expect to complete over £10bn of mortgages this year – while adding to Openwork’s stable of fantastically run adviser firms.”