1. About this Document
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is the independent regulator of financial services. The FCA requires us to provide you with a document called an Initial Disclosure Document. This document provides information about us, the products we offer, the services we will provide, what we charge for our services, who regulates us, what to do if you have a complaint, and details about the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.
Please read this document carefully and retain it for future reference.
2. What services do we provide?
We will provide you with either comparable details of firms most appropriate to your lending or purchase requirements, or general information relating to finance products. In assessing your requirements, we may seek such information about your personal circumstances and objectives as might be relevant in order to enable us to identify your needs. It is important that you provide us with accurate and relevant information.
You will not receive advice or a recommendation from us. However, we may ask questions to narrow down the selection of firms offered, from which you can more easily make your own choice if you so wish.
As a Financial Conduct Authority regulated credit broker, we can introduce you to a range of lenders who may be able to help you finance your requirements and provide other products and services.
We will try to secure the right finance arrangement for you; however, you should not consider us as giving you advice or making recommendations to you.
3. Whose products do we use?
Where you are looking to finance an asset purchase or to arrange a business loan, we have commercial arrangements with a panel of lenders we can introduce you to. We are legally acting as a "credit broker" when we do this.
We will only offer products from this carefully selected panel of finance providers. We do not provide whole-of-market advice across every lender in the UK — we will introduce you to lenders on our panel who are most likely to be able to meet your requirements.
Lenders we work with pay us commission. This commission may be fixed or variable and may impact the monthly amount you will pay. We will always disclose the commission we receive prior to the conclusion of any agreement.
4. Do we charge for our services?
For most commercial finance transactions — including asset finance and business loans — Sorbus Finance does not charge a broker fee directly to the client. We are remunerated by commission paid by the lender upon completion of a Finance Agreement.
Where a broker arrangement fee is applicable, this will be clearly disclosed to you in advance and set out in the Confirmation of Instructions before you proceed. Any applicable fees will be:
- Disclosed to you in writing before you commit to any application;
- Only payable upon completion of a Finance Agreement; and
- Subject to your informed consent.
We will disclose the commission we receive from the finance company to you prior to submitting your application. Should the original quote change in any way, a new disclosure document will be provided. We will ask you to confirm your informed consent to us receiving this remuneration.
5. Who regulates us?
Sorbus Finance Ltd is an Appointed Representative of Moorgate Finance Limited T/A MBN, which is Authorised and Regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. The FCA reference number is 662419.
You can verify this on the Financial Conduct Authority's Register by visiting register.fca.org.uk or by contacting the FCA on 0300 500 8082.
Sorbus Finance Ltd is incorporated in England and Wales (Registration Number: 14329357) with its registered office at Sunny Bank, 12 Albion Road, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, S40 1LJ.
Other services we offer via Moorgate Finance Ltd are not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority; however, the Financial Ombudsman Service has been extended to handle some complaints under the Consumer Credit Act.
6. What do I do if I have a complaint?
If you have a complaint about any aspect of our service, please contact us in the first instance:
- By email: hello@sorbusfinance.co.uk
- By telephone: 01246 383500
- By post: Sorbus Finance Ltd, Sunny Bank, 12 Albion Road, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, S40 1LJ
We will acknowledge your complaint within five business days and provide a final response within eight weeks. If you remain dissatisfied, you may be entitled to refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS):
- Website: financial-ombudsman.org.uk
- Telephone: 0800 023 4567
7. Financial Services Compensation Scheme
The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) is the UK's statutory fund of last resort for customers of authorised financial services firms. Eligibility for FSCS compensation depends on the type of business and the circumstances of the claim.
Depending on the type of business and the circumstances of a claim, we may be covered by the FSCS. You can find more information about the FSCS at fscs.org.uk.
8. Conflicts of Interest
As a credit broker, we may receive commission or other remuneration from lenders. This creates a potential conflict of interest in that we could be incentivised to introduce you to lenders who pay higher commission rather than those who are most suitable for your needs.
We manage this conflict by:
- Disclosing any commission or benefit we receive before you enter into any agreement;
- Assessing your needs independently of commission levels;
- Presenting you with the most suitable options available on our panel for your circumstances; and
- Obtaining your informed consent before proceeding on any application.