Mortgage broker blames property dip for loss of 40 jobs

Published on Friday 25 July 2008 19:54

THE downturn in the property market has been blamed for the decision to scale down a mortgage selling business which is expected to lead to the loss of about 40 jobs.

Mortgage broker MoneyQuest has closed down its Edinburgh office and combined it with its operation in Glasgow after the company ran into financial difficulties.

A spokeswoman for the firm said up to a third of the 124 Scottish jobs are likely to be lost – and negotiations are still taking place with staff.

One former employee, who did not want to be named, said staff at the Randolph Crescent office in the Scottish capital were given only a week's notice and that some staff had already been laid off.

A statement issued by MoneyQuest said: "Unfortunately, the new smaller business will not require the same level of overheads and staffing and therefore we are presently in consultation with all staff as some redundancies will result.

"We have no plans at this time to move the head office from Glasgow but of course all overhead financing will be looked at over the coming weeks."

Paul Gratton, the former chief executive of Egg, who bought the company in March, initially assured staff that there would be no job losses, but the firm was badly affected by what it termed "current market conditions".

In a statement, Gratton said: "Unfortunately the market worked against us and others. As the market deteriorated further in May and again June, we felt we had no option other than to try and secure some of the business and protect employee jobs."