Contractors’ Mortgage Brokerage opens in Cork

THE Minister for Finance, Michael McGrath, officiated at the opening of Mortgage Navigators in Cork recently.

Part of the Contracting PLUS Group, Mortgage Navigators is a mortgage advisory service open to all borrowers in the market, but with a unique selling point of specific experience and understanding of independent professional contractors.

The company’s new mortgage advisory arm at Cork Airport Business Park will identify and deliver borrowing solutions for self-employed professionals who want to buy or build properties, remortgage, switch providers, or acquire an investment property.

Founded by Michael Dineen in 2002, Contracting PLUS is an Irish-owned international professional services company headquartered in Cork.

It supplies accounting, tax, and financial advisory services to independent professional contractors and has offices in Dublin, in London, and in Mahe in India.

It currently employs more than 190 staff, and is expecting to add another 50 jobs with the launch of Mortgage Navigators.

The new arm of the business will also offer general insurance early next year, having been approved as an intermediary by the Central Bank.

Mr Dineen said their unique selling point in the market is that in understanding contracting and understanding lending, they combine these expert insights to smooth the route for self-employed contractors.

“Demand for contractors is a feature of evolving labour markets internationally, and Ireland’s talented independent professionals help attract multi-national corporations and FDI here, as well as supporting indigenous R&D and business innovation,” said Mr Dineen.

Mortgage Navigators is headed by Margaret Barrett, an experienced mortgage manager and qualified financial advisor, previously with Bank of Ireland in Cork.

“Time is money, where people are self-employed,” said Ms Barrett.

“The advantage with Mortgage Navigators is the time and money saved by navigating a full one-stop mortgage journey for clients, on a hassle-free application platform,” she added.

Minister McGrath congratulated the Contracting PLUS and Mortgage Navigators team and wished them the best in the future.

Cork Lord Mayor, Cllr Kieran McCarthy and Conor Healy, Chief Executive of Cork Chamber, were also special guests at the opening.