START MORTGAGES IS set to quit the Irish market and will transfer its loan book to Mars Capital.

Start manages over 11,000 mortgages in Ireland, with an estimated value of around €2.2 billion.

Lone Star Funds, a private equity firm that invests globally in real estate, acquired Start in 2014 and has reached an agreement to transfer the servicing rights of Start’s mortgage book to Mars Capital.

Formed in 2015, Mars Capital Ireland provides credit servicing for a range of Irish banks and financial institutions with a focus on residential mortgage loans.

A source has described Start as the “day-to-day manager of the loans involved in this transaction”.

The source added that the final transfer will take between six and nine months to complete.

Start is licensed and regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland to operate as a retail credit firm, although it no longer originates new loans.

As part of the agreement, Start will seek to surrender its licence as it will no longer require one.

However, a source said it will be “business as usual at Start” and that Start employees will continue to “support borrowers experiencing financial difficulty, to ensure they can continue to meet their mortgage obligations and remain in their homes”.

They added: “There is no reason for customers of Start to be concerned.”

The source added that the move will have “no impact on borrowers or the terms of their loans”.

“The only difference is that their loans will be managed by Mars Capital rather than Start,” said the source.

“Their rights under Irish loan regulations will remain unchanged.”

It is understood that communication of the move will be issued to customers “at the appropriate time”.

Meanwhile, it is understood that most staff at Start “will migrate to Mars Capital so their jobs are safe”.

This will take place under a TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings) agreement and the transition will likely take at least six months.