"We’re pleased to have Knights join the Council, bringing with them in depth knowledge and experience of legal services."
- Jim Boyd, CEO of the Equity Release Council
Knights, the UK’s largest regional legal services business, has joined the Equity Release Council.
With a team of more than 1,100 professional, Knights is one of the largest collaborative legal and professional services teams in the UK – with a presence in 26 locations nationwide. In addition to providing services to industries as diverse as healthcare, aviation and the energy sector, they also provide independent legal advice for clients who are taking out equity release as part of their personal services practice.
The addition of Knights means the Council now has 769 member firms and 1831 registered individuals. Council members include every active UK lifetime mortgage product provider, as well as financial advisers, solicitors, surveyors, funders and other market professionals, covering every stage of the equity release customer journey.
The Council’s latest quarterly market report for Q3 2024 showed new plans agreed (5,370) and total lending (£615m) both grew from Q2. This made Q3 the first time since before the mini-Budget of Autumn 2022 that the equity release market has seen two successive quarters of growth.
Jim Boyd, CEO of the Equity Release Council, commented: “We’re pleased to have Knights join the Council, bringing with them in depth knowledge and experience of legal services. For the right person, equity release can be life changing, allowing homeowners to supplement their pension income, make home adaptations or even fund at home care.
“The requirement for independent legal advice for every customer, enshrined in Council standards, has been a bedrock of the market for over 30 years and is integral to achieving high levels of customer satisfaction and low levels of complaints. We are therefore delighted to add Knights to the list of companies who by joining the Council is committed to helping the industry grow and deliver good outcomes for customers.
“In Q3 2024, we saw the first two successive quarters of growth since the Autumn mini-Budget in 2022. Heading into the new year, the later life lending market can take encouragement from this and we’re hopeful that falling inflation as well as greater political and market certainty will position 2025 as a year of strength and stability.”
Sally Peake, partner at Knights, added: “It is not easy to move away from a home where you've lived for years and where you have your support circle. The personal and social impact of moving cannot be underestimated. Equity Release gives people the option of staying in their home while releasing funds.
“To ensure that customers make good sustainable choices based on their individual and often complex circumstances, it is vital that they receive expert legal advice from well trained and professional firms. We are therefore pleased to be members of the Equity Release Council as this allows us to keep on top of developments and ensure our team can provide the very best support for clients in later life.”
