Saffar acquires major stake in John Charcol

Saffar, a regional financial services firm, said it had acquired a major stake in John Charcol Dubai, a leading independent mortgage broker.

The agreement, which was signed earlier this month, will see Saffar take a 60 per cent stake in the company, with the rest being retained by the company founders. The deal is part of Saffar’s strategy to pursue opportunities in the real estate and home financing market.

“John Charcol is a leading player in the mortgage brokerage industry. With John Charcol Dubai, we hope to leverage the wide range of opportunities available in the regional property finance market.

We are confident that the unrivalled expertise of John Charcol, combined with Saffar’s regional knowledge, will provide the bedrock for the development of John Charcol Dubai as the leading regional independent mortgage brokerage,” said Mishaal Al Usaimi, CEO of Saffar.

“We are extremely proud to be a part of growing this dynamic company on both a local and regional level,” he added.

In 2007, John Charcol established an independent franchise operation in the UAE. It is the first mortgage broker in the UAE to be given a new mortgage consultancies licence and is the only mortgage broker to be part of a foreign group.

“Since the launch of our franchise operation in the UAE in 2007, John Charcol Dubai has gone a long way in establishing itself as an experienced mortgage advisor.

We are currently seeing an unprecedented boom in the real estate market and we are keen to see our business grow and expand in this dynamic region.

Our partnership with Saffar will help us realise our goals and we are looking forward to a long and successful relationship,” said Richard Ingram Director of John Charcol Dubai.

John Garfield, founder of John Charcol, said: “Saffar has a wealth of experience in the regional financial services industry and has built up a strong reputation in the market over the years. We see this partnership as a positive step towards growing our business in the region.”

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