SortRefer is celebrating its 10-year anniversary today (23April).

A decade ago, Kevin Tunnicliffe and his three fellow founders were mortgage broking. However, having seen too many cases abort for lack of a consistently competent and professional conveyancing service, they started SortRefer as a standalone business, with the aim to offer broker firms access to proven sources of conveyancing support.

In the early days, initial quotes were sent out on Excel spreadsheets. From 2010, SortRefer developed its first website and the SortRefer service was established. Run from a tiny office near Derby, the business outgrew its premises and now occupies a large purpose built office on the outskirts of Derby town centre.

Sort Group now comprises SortRefer, Sort Legal, its in-house law firm, and Agent Butler, an estate agency concierge service.

Tunnicliffe (pictured), CEO of Sort Group, said: “SortRefer answered the needs of a new generation of mortgage brokers and we quickly realised that the demand for what we had to offer would become a full time occupation.

“SortRefer not only became a pioneer in giving brokers access to good legal representation for their customers, but also by developing the means of accessing that service.

“One of the most significant changes that has taken place in the past ten years is the quantum leap forward of the internet and its associated applications. We started out on manual spreadsheets, but it quickly became obvious that the only way forward was online. I am proud of the way we have led the way in which brokers can access conveyancers, generate penny accurate quotes and instruct a case – all from their armchair or a client’s house.

“If I look forward another 10 years, there is no doubt that technology will be at the heart of everything we do, as I am sure that the power to develop new applications will continue to grow exponentially.”