Sentinel raises $20million of equity from QUADRANT

Press Release:
17 March 2006

Sentinel, the home equity release specialist group, has raised $20million of equity from Australian private equity firm, QUADRANT Private Equity.

The group, which includes Sentinel in New Zealand, Australian Seniors Finance in Australia, and Seniors Money in Ireland has raised the capital to fund international expansion plans.

Richard Coon, Group Managing Director, said “We have ambitious expansion plans which envisage two or three new country launches each year. These will normally be done in conjunction with local distribution partners. Our proven business model including comprehensive funding and reassurance arrangements means we can launch into a new country very rapidly with the right partner.
This new equity almost doubles the group’s capital to $44million and gives us a very strong base for both existing and new markets.”

Sentinel is New Zealand’s leading provider of home equity release loans, with Sentinel’s Lifetime Loan currently accounting for 94% of the domestic market.* Internationally, home equity release loans have been an increasingly accepted solution to retirement funding. The New Zealand market is now also growing rapidly.

Chris Hadley, Managing Director of QUADRANT said “We are delighted to be able to invest in Sentinel. We know the management well from being one of the early investors in Sovereign, which was a great success for the QUADRANT Funds.

We have looked closely at the home equity release market and believe it has tremendous potential worldwide.”

ENDS

*Datamonitor Report: Reverse Mortgages in Australia and New Zealand 2005 Ref Code DMFS1807

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