Mortgage broking group Lendi Group has confirmed to The Adviser that Domain Home Loans (DHL) stays operational and brokers are nonetheless employed, regardless of property expertise group Domain Holdings Australia Limited (Domain) asserting final week that it was treating the business as a “discontinued operation” and was pursuing a sale exit of its 60 per cent stake within the three way partnership.
While releasing the monetary outcomes for Domain final week, chief government Jason Pellegrino revealed that it had made the choice to promote the DHL three way partnership (previously generally known as Domain Loan Finder), which it has run with Lendi since 2017.
Speaking final week, Mr Pellegrino stated that whereas home loans may “play a key role” in Domain’s market technique sooner or later, it was seeking to pull out of its present JV.
He stated: “[W]hile DHL continued to outperform the broader lending market, Domain sees much greater potential than has been able to be achieved through the joint venture. After an extensive period of discussions with our Joint Venture partner, Domain has made a decision to pursue a sale exit of the business. DHL is being held for sale, and treated as a discontinued operation, and is therefore excluded from trading results.”
According to Domain’s monetary outcomes, DHL had generated $8.8 million of income however had $14.1 million of bills (incurring an EBITDA lack of $5.3 million).
Mr Pellegrino added that Domain “sees the potential for future opportunities with alternative solutions that allow for deep integration, a low cost structure, and alignment on future direction that will support a profitable contribution”.
However, Lendi Group has stated it was “not aware of any active sale process” for the Domain Home Loans JV, with David Hyman, the CEO of Lendi Group, stating the corporate was “disappointed to see Domain announce a factually incorrect and fundamentally misleading statement to the market claiming Domain Home Loans is for sale”.
Mr Hyman stated on the time: “Lendi Group remains committed to upholding our extensive obligations in the Domain Home Loans Shareholders Agreement, and expects that Domain does the same, as such we were surprised to read Domain announced to the market its stake in Domain Home Loans is for sale and it is pursuing other opportunities outside of the DHL joint venture.”
Brokers nonetheless employed, it’s BAU, says Lendi
The Adviser reached out to Domain for additional element on the standing of DHL however was suggested that it was not offering any additional commentary.
However, Lendi Group has confirmed to The Adviser that every one DHL brokers are employed by Lendi Group and it was working business as normal with no disruption to the platform, brokers, or clients.
In an announcement to The Adviser, the broking group stated: “Lendi Group stays dedicated to the Domain Home Loans JV which is constant to function on a business-as-usual foundation.
“All Domain Home Loan brokers stay employed and are all very busy serving to our new and current clients discover a terrific deal on a home mortgage.
“We are looking forward to a busy and successful spring season.”
The group added that the Lendi platform “remains tightly integrated with Domain” and that it had “big plans for the financial year ahead”.
“We look forward to helping the hundreds of thousands of customers each year that trust Domain Home Loans with their home loan needs,” the assertion continued.
According to Lendi Group, DHL had skilled development in settlements – with a compound annual development charge of 42 per cent since FY21 and up 19 per cent yr on yr – even whereas new mortgage lending falls.
Moreover, the group stated that since Lendi merged with Aussie Home Loans in 2021, DHL settlements have elevated by 100 per cent on a month-to-month foundation.
[Related: Lendi Group regains lost market share]
