Investec is planning to sell Start Mortgages, its Irish sub-prime mortgage division, to the US private equity firm Lone Star Funds. The price of the acquisition has not been disclosed. The deal includes the Start Mortgages’ operation platform, brand, operations as well as its 70 employees. The division has a total loan portfolio of €1.1bn. The deal, which must be approved by regulators, will likely take up to three months to close.
Investec, a South African bank with headquarters in the UK, said in a statement that the sale is in line with its “strategic objective to simplify and reshape its specialist banking business.” Investec is also in the process of selling its UK mortgage division, Kensington Group, to Blackstone and TGG for GBP 180m. Start Mortgages was founded in 2004 by four former GE Money employees. Investec acquired the business through Kensington Group in 2010.
