Tembo, the self-styled family-focused digital mortgage broker, has joined the broker panel at shared equity loan provider Proportunity.

Tembo was launched in June 2020 with the aim of helping more people to get onto the property ladder with the help of their loved ones.

Investors in the firm include Aviva Group, Ascension Ventures and the Fair By Design fund, which is backed by Nationwide Building Society, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Big Society Capital and Barrow Cadbury Trust.

Co-founder and CEO Richard Dana said the partnership with Proportunity would bring a new dimension to the range of products Tembo currently advises on.

“Rising interest rates, the escalating cost of living, and soaring house prices mean it is harder than ever before to buy a home,” he said.

“Tembo was created to champion new and fairer ways to help those who have been priced out of the property market, and this deal with Proportunity will mean we can provide a solution for those who need to boost their deposit but are unable to seek family support.”

Proportunity provides shared equity loans which enable people with only a 5% deposit to buy a property. It is also available to both first time buyers, and to those people who already own a home and want to move on to a bigger flat or house but can only put down a small deposit.

Taking out a Proportunity shared equity loan of up to £150,000 or up to 25% of a property value, which means prospective purchasers can increase the size of their deposit. This means they can get a mainstream mortgage at a lower rate of interest than they would have done if taking out a 95% LTV mortgage.

This lowers the overall cost of the purchaser’s mortgage across the two blended rates by up to 40%, and also has the benefit of increasing overall loan to income up to 6x on a 5% deposit.

Vadim Toader (pictured), Proportunity chief executive and co-founder, added: “Both Proportunity and Tembo are on a mission to make home ownership more accessible, and this partnership is a significant step forward in democratising mortgages.

“With Tembo now on the Proportunity broker panel, we will be able to support any of their clients unable to turn to the so-called ‘bank of mum and dad’ to boost their deposits.

“This means they will be able to buy a home now, instead of saving for years only to discover their deposit is still not enough because of ever-increasing house prices.”