A NATIONAL firm of mortgage brokers is expanding its presence in Southampton.

John Charcol, opened its new office in Drivers Wharf, in Northam Road, this week.

The firm says the move the move comes as a result of "phenomenal growth".

Since the start of the year, John Charcol has recruited seven new advisers to its Southampton team and plans to recruit and train more.

Established in 1974, John Charcol has been primarily based in London for most of its 44 years.

The Southampton team became part of the company through the acquisition of Simply Finance in 2016 – John's Charcol's first acquisition after a period of organic growth.

Since then the Southampton team has expanded and in addition to mortgage advice now offers specialist in-house bridging finance, secured loans, home insurance and mortgage protection to John Charcol customers.

Mark Fleet, CEO of John Charcol said: “The investment we’ve made in Southampton has dramatically transformed our business and provided us with the ideal location to grow and expand in the future.

"With a strong pool of high quality Mortgage advisers and the local university on our doorstop we have the ability to recruit and train our next generation of mortgage experts. As we invest in Southampton we hope that we can rely on the support of the local community to further enhance our business and the products and services we provide to our clients on a national level.”

Mark said the firm had taken on seven new advisers in Southampton in January, five more would be recruited in February and it was expected to add another two more staff each month thereafter until the end of the year.

He said the Southampton office had a national coverage and unlike the firm's offices in London was based on telephone sales.