The challenge

The Motley Fool (TMF) has built a great UK business, based on providing financial advice to savvy customers and acting as an introducer to brokers or financial product providers. Given the quantity and quality of their customer relationships, TMF believed there was a strong opportunity to take a full broking role and source mortgages directly for their customers. We were asked initially to carry out an objective and professional assessment of this opportunity.

What did we do?

Not surprisingly, our start point was to investigate the UK mortgage market (before it imploded!), broker models and existing players. Once we had carried out this investigation, we developed various strategic options in brainstorming workshops with TMF and created a series of recommendations. The second stage was to produce a full business case, bringing together all the elements into a compelling reason to act. TMF have since conducted a pilot to prove the broking operation.

What was the breakthrough for TMF?

The business case, for three reasons, because it:

• Really enthused everyone in the TMF UK team as to what could be achieved
• Provided TMF US, the parent, with a cast iron case to support the initiative
• Enabled rapid FSA authorisation