The BLBA aborted their launch back in June 2010 due to what they described as “unforseen circumstances” but rumours have surfaced that a re-launch is imminent.

BLBA has been set up with the intention of representing brokers interests at a grass roots level and aims to deliver more income opportunities for every member firm. There will be a new chairman every year, voted for by members and quarterly business update meetings in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

BLBA aims to become the leading referral partner to other sectors of the finance industry and will work closely with lenders and other product providers to develop bespoke products and services.

Spokesperson for BLBA, Steven Reeves says: “Whilst there are other trade bodies who serve the broker market, our objectives are very different. We are not interested in lobbying government or trying to change legislation, our aim is simply to deliver greater value to brokers by identifying and developing new income opportunities.

“All brokers who join BLBA will have to meet our rigorous standards and adhere to our guidelines so that being a member of BLBA will become a benchmark for quality, ethical and professional standards in the world of loan broking, ensuring that consumers, lenders and product providers who deal with our members, receive only the very best service”.

More details at www.blba.co.uk

News of his appointment was made public at the BrokersLink annual conference in Portugal

Battifarano will be responsible for the international development and management of the network. He joins from Chartis International where he was as a senior vice president.

The fee to purchase the company has not been disclosed however both parties are said to be delighted at the deal.

Heather Moor & Edgecomb Ltd was established over 40 years ago by the principals in the business, Brian and Dolly Pickering and it now services more than 2,000 clients with about £100m of assets under advice. They will retain management and offices but will gain three Buckles advisers who will move to Lyneham, Wiltshire.

Buckles executive chairman Nigel Speirs commented: “We are delighted Brian and Dolly have chosen to partner with Buckles to provide first class advice to their clients.”

The 2.25p per share offer, which has been agreed by the Braemar board, is at a 63.6% premium to Braemar’s closing price last night.

Its Securities operation designs, promotes and manages structured products and promotes its funds to high net worth individuals, via IFAs and other regulated parties.

Braemar, through its Securities and Estates core divisions, manages a range of investment products and property funds.

Braemar’s range of investment funds comprises three Oeics investing in agricultural land, student accommodation and ground rents.It also has nine closed-ended residential property vehicles and the value of funds under management stood at about £44m at 31 March 2010.

Wealth management group Brooks Macdonald, which had £2.05bn under management as at 31 March, believes the Braemar acquisition is key to their ambitions to strengthen its scale and distribution in the UK retail market.

Brooks Macdonald has received irrevocable undertakings equating to 68.1% of existing issued Braemar ordinary shares.

The application allows brokers to search the live TrigoldCrystal mortgage database using a range of panels, mortgage and repayment types as well as other options.

Results are sorted according to search criteria and can be emailed to the broker’s email address in order to show customers.

It is for brokers only and not available for use by the general public. It can be personalised for each individual or firm and can be modified to carry all of the company’s branding.

TrigoldCrystal business development and marketing director David Aylmer says: “With iphones now counting for around 20 per cent of the handsets in the UK, it make sense for us to develop new software along with the changing times. With the mobile arena becoming ever more important in business, I am sure brokers will flock to use this new must have application.”

Sellmycommercialproperty.co.uk is a joint venture between Clapper Holdings and Werth Associates and will sell all types of commercial property across the UK, including shops, offices and industrial units. It offers decisions on whether to purchase or not and offer prices within 48 hours, and has no agency fees.

Intermediaries who introduce property owners looking to sell to the site will receive fees up to 1% of the sale price, payable upon completion.

Clapper, chairman of sellmycommercialproperty.co.uk, said: “The pressures faced by intermediaries due to the lack of lending supply over the past few years has meant that diversification into areas where strong client relationships can be utilised has become essential for ongoing survival.

“I’m a firm believer in the power and resilience of UK intermediaries, so our proposition incorporates the opportunity for intermediaries to significantly boost income whilst helping their clients, and all during the normal course of their daily business activity.”

Jason Werth, managing director at sellmycommercialproperty.co.uk, added: “UK commercial property has experienced even more turbulence than residential has over the past few years and this trend is likely to continue into the foreseeable future. In recent months, commercial prices have rebounded in certain sectors and locations, further increasing the price differential between prime and secondary stock.

“We are now starting to see an increasing number of owners looking to exit whilst economic factors remain so uncertain. In our view, this is the time for experienced investors to be seeking opportunities with a longer term view.”