Press Release
September 20th, 2006 For Immediate Release MONEYEXTRA SIMPLIFIES SECURED LOANS AND OFFERS PLAIN ENGLISH GUIDE THAT EXPLAINS HOW THEY WORK The secured lending market is growing at a furious rate but too many people don’t really understand what they’re taking on, says Moneyextra.com. As more and more Britons are turning to secured loans to sort out their finances, awardwinning personal finance website Moneyextra.com has completely revamped its secured loans comparison tool and made available a guide to secured loans written in plain English. A secured loan works as a promise by the borrower to repay money borrowed from the lender. That promise is backed by the value of the borrower‟s property. AWD Moneyextra‟s guide explains what a secured loan is, what it is likely to cost, the advantages and disadvantages and the alternatives to taking out a secured loan. Robin Amlôt, Senior Editor of Moneyextra said, “It‟s important that people understand exactly what they‟re taking on. A recent survey by Citizens Advice1 underlines the lack of knowledge among consumers with more than one in ten thinking they can miss payments on secured loans but that „their home will always be safe‟ – this just isn‟t the case.” If you do want to investigate what secured loans are available to you, you can do so by answering just nine simple questions on Moneyextra.com. Your answers will be used to create a results table showing appropriate secured loans ranked by their typical APR interest rates. The boom in secured lending, with growth running at an average annual rate of more than 50% in the first five years of the new millennium had created a lending market worth more than £32.6 billion by 20041.
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www.moneyextra.com
AWD Moneyextra is a trading name of AWD Moneyextra Limited which is authorized and regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). AWD Moneyextra Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of AWD Group plc, a member of AWD Holding AG, Europe‟s premier independent financial services group. Registered in England No. 3685041. Registered Office: 1 King Street, Manchester, M2 6AW. VAT Registration No. 50337 4571
Robin Amlôt, Senior Editor of Moneyextra, said, “Secured loans can be tailored to individual needs. There are advantages to taking out a secured loan rather than remortgaging: the application process is quicker and simpler; there are no restrictions on the purpose of the loan; and there are no legal fees involved, unlike the remortgaging process. “A secured loan allows you to borrow more money than an unsecured personal loan. However, you should think carefully before securing other debts against your home. Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage or any other debt secured on it.” For further information, please contact: Robin Amlôt Senior Editor, Moneyextra Tel: 0870 191 5626 public.relations@moneyextra.com NOTES TO EDITORS
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Source: Citizens‟ Advice 13/09/06 Source: UK Secured Lending 2005, Datamonitor
Moneyextra.com‟s secured loans tool is available on http://www.moneyextra.com/compare/personalloans/secured Moneyextra.com‟s guide to secured loans is available on http://www.moneyextra.com/guides/secured-loans-homeowner-022790.html
AWD Moneyextra regularly wins awards. So far in 2006: Winner, Best Use of Technology, National Business Awards Wales/West Country Region Highly Commended, Customer Focus, National Business Awards Wales/West Country Region eSuperbrand – one of the UK‟s top 300 websites Finalist, Best Use of New Media, Financial Sector Technology Awards
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www.moneyextra.com
AWD Moneyextra is a trading name of AWD Moneyextra Limited which is authorized and regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). AWD Moneyextra Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of AWD Group plc, a member of AWD Holding AG, Europe‟s premier independent financial services group. Registered in England No. 3685041. Registered Office: 1 King Street, Manchester, M2 6AW. VAT Registration No. 50337 4571
In 2005 AWD Moneyextra was named: Best Financial Advice Site, Online Finance Awards Online Broker of the Year, Mortgage Strategy/Pink Home Loans Service Awards Financial Services Technology Project of the Year, CNET Networks UK Technology Awards Best Use of Technology, National Business Awards Southeast region Moneyextra.com is one of the UK‟s longest-established personal finance websites. It has 536,000 unique users and delivers 7.8 million page views every month and has 513,000 registered users. As of 14th June 2006, Moneyextra.com featured: More than 8,000 Mortgages from 120 providers 1,506 Stocks & Shares ISAs from 59 providers 178 Cash ISAs from 95 providers 192 Credit Cards from 61 providers 112 Current accounts from 38 providers 879 Deposit accounts from 152 providers 126 Loans from 59 providers
AWD Moneyextra is a trading name of AWD Moneyextra Limited which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). Not all products and services on AWD Moneyextra are regulated by the FSA.
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www.moneyextra.com
AWD Moneyextra is a trading name of AWD Moneyextra Limited which is authorized and regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). AWD Moneyextra Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of AWD Group plc, a member of AWD Holding AG, Europe‟s premier independent financial services group. Registered in England No. 3685041. Registered Office: 1 King Street, Manchester, M2 6AW. VAT Registration No. 50337 4571