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Digital advertising and property business REA Group has today (10 February) announced it has agreed to acquire an initial 70 per cent interest in commercial finance brokerage, Simplicity Loans & Advisory (Simplicity). The remaining 30 per cent interest will be acquired by the end of calendar year 2029.
The transaction is currently subject to regulatory approval. Completion is expected within the next two months, at which point the integration with REA’s broader financial services strategy will begin in earnest.
The acquisition signals a major move into the commercial sector by the property giant – which also owns brokerage brand Mortgage Choice – providing commercial opportunities for Mortgage Choice brokers and giving Simplicity the institutional scale to accelerate its national expansion.
The brokerage, which specialises in complex funding solutions for construction, mining, industrial, and medical sectors, will continue to operate under its existing brand and the leadership of managing directors Jean-Pierre Gortan and Matthew Johnson.
Mortgage Choice brokers will also benefit by accessing more commercial property support.
Simplicity’s proprietary platform, Marketplace Finance, is a central component of the acquisition. The tool functions as a lead generation engine connecting residential mortgage brokers directly with Simplicity’s commercial specialists and a productivity suite: providing bespoke workflow tools specifically designed to handle the nuances of commercial loan tracking and capture.
REA Group aims to leverage Simplicity’s expertise to broaden the offerings of its Mortgage Choice network, many of whose clients are small-to-medium business owners or commercial investors.
Anthony Waldron, CEO of Financial Services and Mortgage Choice, confirmed that the acquisition adds immediate “new capabilities and revenue streams” to the group, allowing them to provide a more holistic service across both residential and complex commercial assets.
“The volume of commercial loans settled by brokers in Australia has increased significantly in recent years. By extending beyond residential lending into the fast-growing commercial lending market, we will accelerate our commercial finance strategy while adding new capabilities and revenue streams.
“Simplicity is a great business and has achieved impressive organic growth. We see significant opportunities for integration and future growth by connecting Simplicity with Mortgage Choice and more broadly across the group,” he said.
“We believe the proposed acquisition will create exciting opportunities for our Mortgage Choice brokers, with many of their clients already small and medium business owners or commercial property investors. It will strengthen our ability to offer tailored services across both residential and commercial property loans, supporting more Australians with the funding solutions they need.
“I’m looking forward to working closely with the Simplicity team as we continue to innovate our financial services offering and deliver more choice and flexibility for our brokers and their clients.”
Jean-Pierre Gortan said: “We’ve built our business by helping clients navigate complex transactions with confidence. Partnering with REA gives us the scale, reach and technology to accelerate nationally and cement Simplicity as the most trusted commercial broker in Australia.”
Matthew Johnson added: “REA is the natural fit for us with many of our existing clients in the property and construction sector. We look forward to working closely with Anthony and the REA team to drive Simplicity’s future growth.”
Commercial lending has been a core focus for the broker channel in recent years, with commercial brokers entering early 2026 with a bullish outlook, forecasting a significant surge in demand for business loans and commercial mortgages.
According to the Broker Pulse: Commercial Lending report, conducted by Agile Market Intelligence in partnership with the Commercial & Asset Finance Brokers Association (CAFBA), appetite for equipment and asset finance also remains positive.
Commercial brokers recently told Broker Daily that while business loan demand is rising, borrowers face a “precision-first” market defined by tighter regulatory caps and complex serviceability requirements. To navigate these hurdles, brokers are increasingly steering clients towards non-bank lenders who offer faster approvals and more flexible “alt-doc” solutions than traditional banks. Ultimately, brokers see their role shifting from mere “loan writers” to strategic advisers who must help clients manage a “maturity wall” of expiring debt by choosing between aggressive refinancing or tactical loan extensions.
Similarly, recent data from aggregation group Connective showed that more than half of residential brokers now offer multiple lending options.
Just 38 per cent of brokers working with Connective now write residential loans exclusively, while 51 per cent offer multiple lending options. One in five (19 per cent) are fully diversified across residential, commercial, and asset finance. The proportion operating across all three segments increased by 9 per cent year on year in 2025.
[Related: Brokers see more demand for business and commercial loans]