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A management team led by one of the founders of Egg , the internet bank, has bought a majority stake in moneyQuest, one of the UK's biggest online mortgage brokers.

The exact size and price of the stake in the privately owned business has not been disclosed - although the team, led by Paul Gratton, has taken a majority stake.

Mr Gratton was chief operating officer of Egg when it launched in 1998 and was chief executive for five years until he left in 2006. Since then he has taken on a number of executive and non-executive roles.

Mr Gratton is leading a new management team who were involved in the launch of both First Direct, the online bank owned by HSBC, and Egg. Mr Gratton will become executive chairman of moneyQuest.

The team includes Simon Jackson, who will be chief operating officer. He has 20 years' experience in financial services and ran Egg's back office operation. The new team also includes Andy Thompson, marketing & strategy director who was also part of Mr Gratton's original team at Egg, and Tony Lynch, who will be finance director and joins from Artilium, the AIM-listed mobile technology business. The new management team will work closely with Paul Reynolds, moneyQuest's current managing director and co-founder.

Paul Gratton believes further significant opportunities exist to expand the business, particularly as consumers rely more on brokers as they find it more difficult to get a mortgage loan due to the credit squeeze. Mr Gratton said: "Our focus will continue to be providing expert financial advice and assistance both online and by telephone.

"Our experience is that in these uncertain times for mortgage customers the reassurance and expertise provided by a good broker is in great demand."

moneyQuest was an early pioneer of internet and telephone-based mortgage broking.

Source:  FT.com, March 2008