Acre Software, a UK startup using blockchain technology to revamp the mortgage and insurance application process for advisers, has raised £5 million from Aviva and Sesame Bankhall Group (SBG).
Despite the rise in direct-to-consumer strategies, led mainly by lenders and new challengers, nearly three quarters of UK mortgages are facilitated by advisers.
Acre aims to help these advisers retain their position by matching the speed and end-user experience of market disruptors, improving the experience for customers.
To do this, it uses blockchain to bring together all the components of the mortgage advice process into one unchangeable ‘record of the transaction’, putting brokers back in control of their business and offering a seamless, faster journey for consumers.
Justus Brown, CEO, Acre, says: "Buying a house is one of the biggest financial transactions a person can make, yet the process is slow, opaque and fragmented, which is increasingly out of step with consumer expectations. We’re changing this - levelling the playing field for brokers using innovative tech, while putting an informed consumer at the centre of the mortgage process."
As part of the investment, SBG, which has more than 11,000 advisers across the UK, is inking an exclusive deal with Acre.
John Cowan, executive chairman, SBG, says: "After undertaking a comprehensive 12-month review of the market, we concluded that we could no longer ignore the new competitive threats circling around our profession and we had to act."