Although Tan cites confidentiality on the third-party contracts that were negotiated, he says it relates to “any contracts that you imagine” would be required to run a mortgage brokerage or fintech business.
“Anything from your telephone system to your sourcing systems, to your SaaS software to your recruitment costs. Any systems that any normal fintechs require in this current world.
“And the other thing, if I can be bold in saying – the business was a square [with] a lot of senior leadership as well.
“We have less senior leadership now. It’s more of a pyramid, and there’s a distinct structure. There’s still quite a flat hierarchy, but clearly with that comes savings, and I think that has clearly helped as well.”
The "Iron Man" of mortgages
Besides targeting profitability, Tan says he believes Habito can be the "Iron Man" of mortgages. “Technology can make us stronger, faster, more efficient; but it won’t replace us humans.
“So we want to make sure we use technology to be super productive. And I’m very proud that Habito has one of the best productivities in the marketplace. Our average adviser can do circa 40, 45 mortgage applications a month, which is unheard of in our industry.”
According to Tan, a typical brokerage might submit between eight and 15 mortgage applications a month, while a “high-performing” one might achieve 20.
“You can see at Habito we’re already doing significantly more than most. And that’s down to the systems, the processes and technology we’ve built, which allows our advisers to focus on advising, and not on double entry of data and repetitive tasks. And that’s testament to the technology we’ve built.
“With that productivity, that strong infrastructure and strong brand, the idea is to become a household name within the consumer space.
“We want to build that awareness, and like how your Monzos and Starlings probably created that in the banking space, we aim to do that in the mortgage space. We’re heading in the right direction, but there’s a lot of hard work to go.”
Chloe Cheung is a senior features writer at FT Adviser
