Specialist Mortgage Group (SMG) is this month celebrating the twentieth anniversary of the business.

Established in September 2001 as Y3S before becoming SMG in 2017, the Cardiff-based group has grown significantly over the past two decades and now includes packager businesses Y3S Loans, Y3S Private Clients, B2B Financial, and Chaseblue Loans.

The group covers a range of specialist product areas including complex first and second-charge mortgages, buy-to-let, bridging, commercial and development finance. SMG acts as a master broker and packager for introducing advisers, offering advice services to clients on behalf of those firms.

Y3S started out with three people in 2001 and has increased to 75 members of staff through a strategy of organic growth and acquisitions. It is now comprised of a number of separate brands and is focused on benefiting from a technology-focused investment and growth strategy designed to help the growing number of borrowers who need specialist finance solutions.

Barney Drake (pictured), CEO of Specialist Mortgage Group, said: “It has often been a roller-coaster ride over the last 20 years, but we are absolutely thrilled for the Group to be hitting this milestone and to be looking forward to a future where we anticipate going from strength to strength. We feel a long way forward from the excitement of initial launch all those years ago, but our focus remains on delivering for all our adviser partners and customers to ensure they get the right finance for their needs.

“20 years of activity in this space gives us an incredible amount of experience and know-how, plus we are very fortunate to have a team of people who believe in what we’re doing and work hard to ensure we remain committed to our core values and delivering excellence to all that use us. I’d like to thank everyone who has worked with SMG over the years, who has shown faith in us, and who has contributed to us being the kind of firm we are today. We couldn’t have done it without you, and we raise a toast today to all our stakeholders.”