Sale of Wolverhampton-based mortgage lender falls through amid Brexit fears

Bids for Charter Court Financial Services, which employs more than 350 at its headquarters on Wolverhampton Business Park, had failed to match the £400 million valuation of the business which was founded in 2008.

Investor concerns about the impact of a possible Brexit on Britain's housing market were also a factor in Elliott Associates, the hedge fund which owns a controlling stake in the business, deciding to end the auction process.

Bids for Charter Court Financial Services, which owns the Exact and Precise Mortgage brands, had come in 10 to 15 per cent under the £400m figure.

Private equity firms, including BC Partners, Varde Partners and Warburg Pincus, which had been interested in a deal, had wanted to insert a clause related to next month's European Union referendum in any agreement.

Elliott now sees more value in continuing to run and grow the business with a view towards floating the company on the London Stock Exchange in two to three years time.

Charter Court made a profit after tax of £21.4m last year and is expected to nearly double that this year.

Many businesses are delaying sales or acquisitions until after the outcome of the EU referendum on June 23.

A spokesman for Charter Court said the firm was not commenting in detail but confirmed the auction process had been stopped.

Charter Court Financial Services was recently ranked tenth in The Sunday Times Best 100 Companies to Work For 2016.

It owns Charter Savings Bank, one of the UK's leading challenger banks with more than 40,000 savings accounts and balances in excess of £1.7 billion since its launch in March last year