Mortgage and protection network Stonebridge has revealed that its advisers arranged a record £13.5bn of mortgage lending last year.
Chief executive Rob Clifford announced at Stonebridge’s annual conference in Birmingham on 24 February that completions were up 11% and 8% by value and case count, respectively, last year.
The network’s best month in 2024 was December, when it facilitated a combined £1.32bn of lending.
44% of Stonebridge’s cases in 2024 were for house purchase, up from 26% in 2023, while buy-to-let made up 13% of volumes. Product transfers made up 31% of cases in 2024, down from 40% the year before.
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In addition, Stonebridge advisers arranged a record number of insurance policies for clients protecting more consumers than ever before. Insurance policy numbers were up 17.4% year-on-year. The number of general insurance policies was also up 10% compared with 2023.
More firms joined Stonebridge than any other network in 2024 – the third year in a row this has happened – with the group welcoming 93 new advice businesses on board. That takes the total number of member firms to 658.
Clifford (pictured) said: “We’re delighted with how 2024 went. Our member firms are now doing business with around 100,000 customers a year, arranging more than £13.5 of mortgages in 2024 alone. These numbers are impressive – and I want to thank all of our advisers for the great work they do, every day, to deliver brilliant mortgage advice across the UK. They’re truly appreciated by the Stonebridge team.
“While some of our competitors pulled back in 2024, we invested in our people and technology. People notice that, and we believe that is why more advisers joined Stonebridge than any other network in each of the past three years.
“One of the highlights of 2024 for me has been the enormous increase in the amount of protection written by our advisers, with 17% more clients getting advice from us and choosing hugely important protection policies, thereby protecting thousands more clients and delivering better consumer outcomes. Whilst we have supported with webinars, masterclasses, sales process training and our new Protection Pulse newsletter, the credit absolutely must go to our advisers, who have worked so hard to ensure that customers are getting the protection advice that they need.
“2024 was a great year and we are proud of what we have achieved as a collective. But now our focus shifts to ensuring that 2025 is another year of strong growth for both Stonebridge and our advisers.”
