Mortgage Tycoon Eyes £800m Sale Windfall

A Manchester-based financier who was once censured by the City watchdog is plotting a deal that could value his controlling stake in his company at well over £500m.

Sky News has learned that Henry Moser, the chief executive of Jerrold Holdings, a specialist mortgage lender, will appoint an investment bank in the next few days to examine options for the future ownership of the business.

Mr Moser founded Jerrold, which trades under brands such as Blemain Finance and Lancashire Mortgage Corporation, exactly 40 years ago.

Now in his mid-60s, he is said to be open to the idea of a stock market flotation or outright sale of part or all of his stake in the company during the medium term.

A person close to Jerrold, which offers financing to residential and commercial property-owners, said that Mr Moser had yet to make his mind up about whether to significantly reduce his 70% shareholding in the near future.

The company made a profit of roughly £80m last year. Some bankers believe it could be worth at least £800m, and potentially as much as £1bn, which at the upper end of that range would value the founder's stake at £700m.

At that level, Mr Moser - already a fixture on The Sunday Times Rich List - would be catapulted into the ranks of Britain's super-wealthy.

The remaining 30% of the shares are held by Equistone, a private equity firm which used to be part of Barclays.

The source said that the expiry of Equistone's fund had been the trigger for the decision to start a possible sale process.

Rothschild, the investment bank, has had a long-standing relationship with Mr Moser, although it was unclear on Wednesday whether it would be formally appointed.

In 2012, the then Financial Services Authority fined Mr Moser £70,000 for inaccurately charging customers between 2004 and 2009, a decision which prompted his departure from the board of one of the company's subsidiaries.

Mr Moser's fine was reduced, according to the regulator, because of his extensive co-operation and subsequent changes to business practices.

Since then, Jerrold's financial performance has continued to power ahead, enabling a maiden £200m bond issue last year and a £435m refinancing in April.

In a presentation to bondholders on Wednesday which made no mention of the review of ownership options, Jerrold said its loan book had grown by £72m during the first quarter of its financial year to £1.15bn, with pre-tax profit rising to £15.5m.

A spokesman for Jerrold declined to comment.