The team behind online deals site LivingSocial are part of a startup mortgage brokerage that says it will originate more than $3bn in loans by the end of the year.
David Hyman and Sebastian Watkins, who were part of the founding team of LivingSocial, say their Sydney-based brokerage Australian Credit and Finance has submitted more than $1bn in loans. Hyman said the brokerage is growing significantly off the back of a capital raising campaign.
“The next few months are going to be really exciting. We’ve just moved to a bigger office in the heart of the Sydney CBD, and we’re expecting to double our team to 180 staff by mid‐year. The number of consumers we’re interacting with is also growing to more than 100,000 a month. I’m particularly looking forward to launching a new suite of consumer products in 2015,” Hyman said.
Executive director Mark Kalazjich said the company's investment in talent has led to its growth.
"One of the keys to our rapid growth has been having the right support structures in place. Australian Credit and Finance has a deep sales-based culture embedded in its DNA thanks to a strong management team of self-starters. We've also invested heavily in the staff, helping us to attract a steady flow of brokers that are thrilled to achieve three to five times the industry average results," Kalazjich said.
