About Compare Equity Release

About Compare Equity Release

Compare Equity Release

Checked for accuracy and updated on 27 June 2023

Compare Equity Release is part of the Equity Release Supermarket family and was created by Mark Gregory, the founder and CEO of Equity Release Supermarket.

Mark launched Equity Release Supermarket in 2008 with a unique vision for the market.

Previously, Mark had been an equity release adviser for many years and he knew that while customers needed expert financial advice and guidance throughout the process of taking out a plan, they also wanted to learn about equity release for themselves and find plans that could meet their needs – before speaking to an adviser.

Just a year before, the iPhone was launched and Mark could see that ‘smart’ technology and the internet would become central to the way we discovered, researched and bought products and services.

So, when Equity Release Supermarket launched, it was the first equity release broker to provide a free calculator to allow website visitors to understand how much money they could release and also the first website to allow visitors to compare plans from across marketplace. Over the years, the site has continued to be an innovator in the equity release market, and it relaunched in late 2018, providing the most comprehensive range of calculators and tools available – across all digital platforms.

Three years after the original launch of Equity Release Supermarket, Mark could see that a different type of customer was becoming interested in equity release, one that already knew something about equity release and the plans available.

To cater for this new customer, Mark created Compare Equity Release – the first equity release comparison site - with the goal of providing the digitally confident with a suite of tools and services to enable them to compare and shortlist equity release plans that could meet their needs.

Compare Equity Release was reinvented and relaunched in 2019, incorporating smartER – the first equity release search engine allowing our customers to create a shortlist of plans, tailored to meet their personal needs. smartER empowers our customers so that when they speak to their adviser, they have the confidence of already understanding how much money they could release and a range of plans that could fulfil their individual needs.

What our happy customers have to say

Would put anybody in touch with Sue Eastham, a highly professional & lovely lady who really cares about offering the best... READ MORE

Mr & Mrs R - Bollington, Cheshire

Barry Wilderoder is a star performer! He was thoroughly supporting. A very pleasant, experienced person to meet & deal with.... READ MORE

Mr & Mrs N - Leiston, Suffolk

All very helpful. What I really like is that they always respond quickly to any question you may have and nothing is too... READ MORE

Miss K - Liskeard, Cornwall

Really good to talk with people who are understanding and not pressurising.

Mr & Mrs R - Coventry, West Midlands

Gary was very clear with his explanations and helped us understand all our options. Everyone involved was very helpful and... READ MORE

Mr and Mrs R - Canterbury

A clear straightforward and quick process knowing exactly what costs were involved through set fees rather than %. Our thanks... READ MORE

Ms W - Irvine, North Ayrshire

Everything went through far more quickly than I anticipated, and with a lot less hassle than I had expected too! Everyone... READ MORE

Mr H - County Durham

Completely unbiased and well explained. Easy to understand.

Mr & Mrs L - Doncaster, Yorkshire

Gary, a very honest hard working gentleman who has been with me for 3 very difficult years. With Gary's wonderful support... READ MORE

Ms B - Kent

Mark,Thank you so much for arranging the Just Retirement Lifetime Mortgage for me. When you see yourself running out of... READ MORE

Mr M - Worthing, Sussex

I cannot recommend Sara highly enough – dealt with her for the last 10 years. She is not only a fantastic person to partner... READ MORE

Mr and Mrs M - London

Despite the limitations imposed by Coronovirus, I was extremely pleased by the highly professional approach adopted by all.... READ MORE

Mr W - Knebworth, Hertfordshire

The service was dealt with professionally and efficiently despite Covid-19 conditions!

Mrs P - Hove, East Sussex

This service was fantastic. We were having problems getting equity release due to our solar panels. Mark sorted it out exteremely... READ MORE

Mr T - Nottingham

Daniel, thank you so much for making this whole journey a pleasure. You were so understanding and thoughtful throughout and... READ MORE

Mr & Mrs N - Rhyl, North Wales

Excellent, friendly & not pushy at all. Service from my local representative couldn't be bettered. Whole process was surprisingly... READ MORE

Mrs P - Paignton, Devon

Thank you for a fast, efficient service taking only 4 weeks to completion following the visit of the very professional &... READ MORE

Mr & Mrs D - Ewhurst, Surrey

I want to say thanks for the excellent service I received, Jo gave me help and advice with a smile.

Mrs F - Camberley, Surrey

Very easy, very helpful, excellent service. Our adviser Allen Tomlinson was very clear with all his advice & explained everything... READ MORE

Mr & Mrs M - Hailsham, East Sussex

We were very happy with Marc's advice. He rang us when he said he would and kept us informed of the progress all the way... READ MORE

Mr & Mrs W - Castleford, West Yorkshire

Will Massey was professional, helpful and immediately answered any queries I had.

Mrs I - Northampton

‘John’s patience and clear explanations provided us with the reassurance that we had made the right decisions’

Mr & Mrs Barrett - East Sussex

All the people with have dealt with were professional and explained everything clearly.

Mr & Mrs S - Bedford, Bedfordshire

I had an excellent experience using Gareth as he explained everything in easy to understand manner. Gareth & his online... READ MORE

Mrs P - Merseyside

Our adviser - Paul Newsome went way beyond the call of duty to get us our money and we can only be really thankful to him... READ MORE

Mr & Mrs S - Louth, Lincolnshire

My wife & I were very concerned that we would not be able to understand all that came with this equity release & had to rely... READ MORE

Mr & Mrs P - Braintree, Essex

A reputation built upon outstanding financial advice and service

While digital innovation is important to us, we have never lost sight of the fact that the heart of our business is providing outstanding financial advice and service.

Even now, as an established and leading equity release broker, Mark still personally interviews and appoints all the advisers that join Equity Release Supermarket to ensure that they share the same passion for helping people achieve their financial goals and meet our exacting standards.

To offer you extra peace of mind, all our advisers are members of the Equity Release Council (the industry’s trade body) which has a strict code of conduct in place to ensure that all equity release customers are protected.

While we don’t ask for plaudits, we’re also very proud of what our customers have to say about us in the review site feefo and in social media. The equity release industry has also given us a number of awards, which shows that we are doing the right thing for our customers.

We always put our customer first

Unlike our competitors, we think it’s important that you are as well informed as you want to be before speaking to us about equity release.

That’s why in both the Compare Equity Release and Equity Release Supermarket websites we provide you with as much information as possible and all the tools you need, so that when you speak to your adviser, you are comfortable with and confident in the decision that you are making.

That same approach of openness and honesty applies whenever you want to speak to us. If you call us or use our live chat facility, the first person you will speak to is your Equity Release Supermarket adviser.

We don’t have call centres – just friendly expert advisers that are on hand to answer all your questions and be by your side throughout the whole process. How you work with your adviser is also up to you.

Our local advisers can meet you in the comfort of your home, discuss your needs over the phone, use the latest video technology – or why not use a combination of each? We’ll let you decide.

We also think it’s important that you can track your application. Therefore, we provide you with your own secure, online dashboard, where we’ll keep you up to speed with progress and store all your important documents for reference. You can access this, whenever you want to and wherever you are - 24/7.

Whether you’re just starting to compare equity release and learn about the plans that are available, or you’ve shortlisted your plans using our smartER search engine and are ready to speak to your adviser, we’re here to help.