Boyd Legal to further tap into Equity Release boom

A dedicated event has been arranged as an Edinburgh headquartered law firm looks to meet the surge in demand for Equity Release.

Boyd Legal is to host 50 independent financial advisors – following on from a record summer in which the firm witnessed a 44 percent increase in the service since the Brexit vote – as it looks to expand its network of experts.

The legal outfit is also using the event, taking place on Tuesday 13 September to formally launch its new business suite with seminar and meeting rooms, created in the new Queensferry Street offices formerly belonging to Clydesdale Bank.

Managing director of Boyd Legal, Peter Boyd, said: “The last few years have provided the perfect conditions for Equity Release services to grow.

“Historically low Bank of England interest rates mean savers have yielded little or no return since 2009 – impacting retirees the hardest. A shortage of smaller homes emerging to the market has also limited downsizing – and the ability to free up equity in a larger home.”

Equity Release is an option for the over-55s and enables the release of cash without vacating a property – typically a solution deliberated for many years prior to purchase.

Since 2014, the UK Equity Release market has grown by 24 per cent to £1.71 billion.

Figures released for Scotland by The Equity Release Council highlighted that the second half of 2015 saw the largest growth rates since 2008, with the average amount taken out via a lump sum product reaching £39,834 north of the border.

Peter added: “We’re delighted to be making good use of our new seminar room, which we’re keen to make available to local businesses.

“It is also a chance to tell delegates about our specialised Equity Release legal department, which covers the whole of Scotland.”

Boyd Legal is the number one independent Scottish solicitor for Equity Release in terms of sales, regularly exceeding 40 cases per month.

Equity Release, also referred to as Later Life Advice is available in two formats.

The most common is a Lifetime Mortgage where you do not repay the money you release from the property until you have left the property or have passed away. Interest accrued is compounded annually, and will build up over the duration of your Equity Release and become part of the final sum to be repaid.

The second format is a Home Reversion in which the customer sells all or part of the interest on the home - in return receiving money and a lease enabling them to live in the home rent free.

With a flagship office in Edinburgh, Boyd Legal also has regional hubs across Scotland – in Kirkcaldy, Glasgow, Inverness and Aberdeen.