EDM buys online property data network

EDM specialises in turning paper documents into digital files and then managing them for clients such as Nationwide Building Society, insurance group Legal & General, property group Colleys and chartered surveyors e.surv.

From its offices in Bilston it runs operations in the UK and America employing 1,300 staff and has a turnover of £70 million a year. It has bought xit2 for an undisclosed amount. The firm offers a range of products to help clients including Nationwide, Virgin Money, Santander, Barclays and Lloyds manage the various stages of the mortgage process. It enables lenders such as banks and building societies to exchange data with third parties such as surveyors, solicitors and estate agents.

The deal comes as the housing market stages a comeback – boosted by the Government's Help to Buy scheme – and gross mortgage lending in February soared to £15.2 billion – 43 per cent up on the same month a year ago.

xit2's new managing director, Joe Pepper, said: "I am delighted that xit2 has become part of the EDM family. It's excellent news for our customers too because we will be part of a scalable, financially stable group that has the ambition to grow and develop a highly complementary set of products and services for the mortgage industry."

EDM Group's chief executive Sam Ferguson said: "This is a fantastic opportunity for us to widen the scope of services and products that we offer to companies operating in the mortgage industry.

"It's a great match: EDM is focused on improving the efficiencies of back office processes and xit2 is well-known and respected for its property risk and data exchange platforms, which have become standard in the mortgage industry. Together we can offer a compelling set of propositions to organisations in the sector."

As well as clients in the property market, EDM also hands information for hundreds of companies and public sector bodies ranging from NHS Trusts and Companies House to Lloyds Bank and BMI.