Vida has partnered with Zoot to develop a new end-to-end mortgage platform.

The partnership represents a significant part of Vida’s £5 million investment in its technology strategy.

The new cloud-based platform will cover both the front and back-end and will utilise open banking and other external data sources. Vida says it is also working with Zoot to create a “seamless” link for other aspects of the mortgage application process, such as conveyancing.

Anth Mooney, CEO of Vida, said: “The Covid-19 crisis has had an unprecedented impact on the mortgage market; at Vida we have taken the opportunity to plan for the future and return to the market with a renewed ambition to change mortgages for good. Through this new partnership with Zoot, Vida is aiming to become a market leader in tech-enabled decisioning and origination so that we can raise the bar for our intermediary partners.

“This is a significant investment for us, and we’ll be working together with Zoot to develop new digitally-enhanced capabilities, built specifically for intermediaries and reflecting the vital role they play in our market.

“Our partnership with Zoot is another important step in our ambition to help the recovery of the mortgage market and support those intermediary partners who have worked so hard to weather the Covid-19 crisis. More customers than ever before will need specialist lenders to find solutions for their own unique circumstances. At Vida we are investing early in that changed landscape so that we can help our intermediary partners to provide that much needed help and advice.”

Adam Jackson, UK managing director of Zoot, added: “Vida are an innovative and technology-led lender and we are proud to be helping them revolutionise their services. Mortgage lending is traditionally labour intensive. Zoot’s end-to-end mortgage platform with a truly digital customer journey will be a real game changer for Vida’s partners and their customers.

“The combination of Vida’s vision and Zoot’s technology will undoubtedly set a new standard within the UK mortgage industry.”