New opportunities emerge following commercial brokerage’s Sale to Mortgage Choice owner
The wheels started turning on Simplicity Loans & Advisory’s sale to REA Group last year, when managing director Jean‑Pierre Gortan (pictured) and general manager of origination and fulfilment Ryan Nelson met REA Group chief executive Anthony Waldron at the company’s Melbourne office to discuss Simplicity's Marketplace referral offering.
Simplicity’s leadership team had had a solid decade-long relationship with Waldron, but while talk of a business partnership had come and gone, it wasn’t until last year that negotiations turned serious.
“We met with Anthony to continue our discussions on referral partnerships and left with something deeper,” Gortan tells MPA.
His pitch paid off, with REA Group today confirming that it is acquiring 70% of Simplicity, with the remaining 30% expected to be bought by the end of 2029.
“It’s like a six-month overnight success,” says Gortan. “It’s finally nice to speak about it.”
With the acquisition, REA Group – whose sprawling network of companies includes national broker network Mortgage Choice, realestate.com.au, realcommercial.com.au and property insights portal PropTrack – gets one of Australia’s most successful commercial brokerages, plus and extensive rolodex of referral partners to dip into.
Simplicity’s team is one of the most decorated in the business. Gortan clinched second spot in MPA’s Best Commercial Mortgage Brokers 2025 list, with team members Isabella Constantinou, Joshua Diab, Anthony Arida, David Prusciono and Danny Gabriel Alvarez all securing spots on the table.
Acquiring this depth of talent marks a clear statement from REA Group that intends to get serious about becoming a major player in the commercial broking space. It couldn’t come at a better time.
Residential-only brokers are swiftly becoming a minority, with new Connective data showing that 51% of brokers are now writing at least one additional loan type on top of residential finance, with just 38% of brokers focusing solely on residential.
Announcing the deal on Tuesday, Waldron said: “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."
He added: “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.”
Simplicity looks forward to being a finance partner for realcommercial.com.au, REA Group’s commercial property portal.
“It’s exciting for us,” says Gortan. “With (REA Group) behind us, there’s nothing we can’t work through.”
“We align culturally,” adds Gortan. He’s particularly impressed by REA Group’s dogged determination to be the number-one player in any market it targets.
In the immediate term, “it’s business as usual for us for the foreseeable future”, says Gortan. “We’ll just double down on what we do well. 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.”
