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Edeus, the specialist lender, has temporarily closed for mortgage origination business after half the workforce have been made redundant.

The lender said all pipeline cases would be honoured with the exact date for receipt of new applications being communicated shortly.

Job losses will primarily impact on those working in the sales and marketing department, with an estimated 50 members of staff affected. All staff facing redundancy have entered a 30-day consultation period.

Michael Bolton, managing director of Edeus, said market conditions had led to this decision, stating the lender would now focus on asset quality assessment and special servicing.

He said: "This is an unprecedented time for our industry and at present it is not commercially viable for Edeus to originate new loans.

"However, the growing market for due diligence services and asset quality assessment is an area where Edeus' award winning technology and people can add considerable value."

Simon Chalk, mortgage and equity release planner for Sheffield-based Mortgage Portfolio Services, said many specialist lenders had increasingly felt the squeeze on its finances.

He said: "It is always a shame when people lose their jobs, however current market conditions have hit the more specialist mortgage providers harder. Edeus is trying to find another niche however they will not be the last to have to suspend mortgage origination.

"This is a sad sign of the prevailing climate and it is impacting on every sector of the financial services industry."