Mortgage broker The Mortgage Brain (TMB) has teamed up with shared equity loan provider Proportunity to help borrowers with small deposits become home owners.

The Gloucester-based firm, which was founded in 2001 and has 60 advisers, arranges mortgages across the UK. It works closely with new build developers and property developers, and has dedicated teams specialising in mortgages for these sectors.

London-based Proportunity is a second charge lender, and will provide up to £150,000 or up to 25% of the value of a property.

This then enables a prospective purchaser to increase the size of their deposit, and qualify for a lower LTV first charge mortgage. The combined loan means borrowers can lower the overall cost of their mortgage across the two blended rates by up to 40%, and also enables them to borrow up to six times their income.

Proportunity loans are only available through brokers and are similar to the government’s Help to Buy (HTB) scheme, which is scheduled to end in April 2023 after eight years of helping people to purchase newly-built homes. Unlike HTB, however, Proportunity loans are not restricted to new build homes and can be used for existing properties.

Proportunity, which has secured funding of £100m, is presently actively expanding its broker, lender and estate agent relationships.

Enzo Mora, TMB founder and CEO, said: “It is a real pleasure for TMB to be working with Proportunity, which is opening up the possibilities of home ownership to a greater number of first-time buyers.

“Raising a deposit is an ongoing hurdle for many potential homeowners, so finding solutions to increase this while also improving affordability is a real game-changer.”

Vadim Toader (pictured), Proportunity CEO and co-founder, added: “This partnership between TMB and Proportunity will make it possible for people to get onto the housing ladder, or move up it, even if their savings are only enough to cover a 5% deposit.

“It is becoming increasingly difficult for people to save because of rising rents and the soaring cost of living. We will be able to help TMB customers buy the home that they want now, instead of having to spend more time saving to increase their deposit, only to find that property prices have gone up yet again.”