Products

Towergate Financial, the financial advisory business of the Towergate Partnership, has bought beleaguered mortgage broker John Charcol.

The buy-to-let market has begun to show signs of recovery with the number of deals increasing from the all time low of 179 in September 2009 to 239 today.

Nearly one in three mortgage deals on the market are currently broker-only as lenders continue to make a commitment to the intermediary market, research suggests.

Sellers are returning to the housing market but buyer interest is slowing, according to the latest Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) UK housing market survey.

The average shelf-life of a mortgage product fell to 14 days in June, almost half the amount of time they were available in the previous month, according to the latest monthly Moneyfacts Treasury Report on UK Mortgage Trends.

Restructuring of product to meet demands of budget-oriented customers

Crystal Mortgages has become the only UK firm to offer a near prime commercial mortgage lending product to applicants who may not meet banks' lending criteria.

Norwich Union is launching the Capital Protected Plan 2 which is designed to return twice the rise in the FTSE 100, up to a specified maximum, and protect an initial investment.

Fee-based IFA support service provider threesixy, has launched a product panel for its clients, listing partners offering ‘third way' pension products.

Abbey is set to launch two guaranteed investment products linked to the FTSE 100.