Exponent Private Equity has reached an agreement to acquire a majority stake in ENRA Group from management and Livingbridge.

ENRA – which owns lender West One Loans and master broker Enterprise Finance – will use the investment to help fund its expansion into the specialist buy-to-let and second charge mortgage market.

As part of the acquisition, David Stewart, former CEO of Coventry Building Society, will also join ENRA’s board as chairman.

Mark Taylor, partner at Exponent, said: “We believe ENRA is uniquely positioned in the specialty finance market, offering its customers both speed and certainty across a range of bespoke residential and commercial mortgage products.

“We are excited to back Danny Waters and his team to continue the impressive growth the business has experienced to date, as well as supporting ENRA to develop new product lines.”

Earlier this year, West One Loans announced the departure of co-founder Duncan Kreeger.

Danny Waters, CEO of ENRA, added; “ENRA is at a key stage in its development and is well positioned to offer innovative solutions to customers in a market that is evolving at a rapid pace.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with Exponent and look forward to working together to take the business to the next level of growth.

“I would also like to thank David Campbell and the team at Livingbridge, whose fantastic support has allowed the business to grow five-fold in just three years.”

Although Exponent plans to acquire a majority stake, Livingbridge will continue on as shareholders.

Shani Zindel of Livingbridge, commented: “We are very proud of our investment in ENRA. Danny and the team have done a fantastic job.

“The business has grown from a niche broker of loans to a leading provider of lending solutions – organically and through the acquisition of West One Loans.

“The investments made in people, IT, sales and marketing have yielded extremely impressive results – ENRA has grown successfully on every level.”