Squirrel buys Aspire Advisors
Squirrel buys Aspire Advisors
23 November
2015
Auckland’s leading mortgage and property experts, Squirrel, is continuing to expand its influence in the market, buying Takapuna-based Aspire Advisors for an undisclosed sum.
Aspire directors Peter Norris and Andrew Mackay wanted to break the mould of the traditional mortgage and insurance 'broker' and become trusted advisors.
“Over the past couple of years we’ve achieved that but we realised that in order to grow the business to reach our full potential we would need to partner with someone who shared our culture and our aspirations,” says Aspire director Andrew Mackay.
Enter Squirrel. Squirrel is Auckland’s most awarded mortgage broker and has recently branched out into the person-to-person lending market with Squirrel Money.
Founder and chief squirrel, John Bolton, says the next phase of Squirrel’s growth in the brokerage market means thinking outside the square.
“We’ve grown tremendously quickly in an organic sense and the next phase requires us to look at new business opportunities, like Squirrel Money, and also acquisitions where and when they fit our model. Aspire has a strong team with a culture and drive that matches our own and I’m delighted to welcome them to the Squirrel family.”
Aspire staff includes five mortgage brokers, two life insurance advisors as well as back-office support staff, all of whom will continue to work out of the Takapuna office.
“Our goal is to make sure customers get the best deal they can, whether they’re taking out a mortgage, investing through Squirrel Money or insuring their lives. By doing that, I believe we will double in size within the next five years,” says John.
Squirrel now has advisors serving the Waikato and Bay of Plenty regions and plans to open a regional office in the coming months.
Today, Squirrel helps place $800 million worth of mortgages a year – by 2020, John says Squirrel hopes to be one of the top five mortgage originators in the New Zealand market.
ENDS