According to HousingWire, Better founder Vishal Garg has unveiled his "Better 2.0" plan following his successful effort to regain control of the company's board. Garg laid out an ambitious restructuring during a shareholder call, which came right after he won a consent solicitation that removed several directors and allowed him to appoint new board members. The changes mark a significant shift in leadership after a two-month dispute that saw Garg initially removed as CEO.
The centerpiece of Garg's plan involves substantial cost reductions paired with revenue growth. He's targeting a cut in quarterly operating expenses from around sixty-five million down to fifty million dollars, while simultaneously pushing revenue from the fifty million range above sixty-five million quarterly. Garg acknowledged that hitting even halfway toward these goals in either direction would put the company at break-even. To help achieve this, he plans to sell Birmingham Bank, the company's United Kingdom operation, which could inject approximately sixty-five million dollars in cash into Better's coffers.
On the leadership front, Garg has made clear he's stepping back from day-to-day operations. The company has identified a candidate for interim CEO and is actively searching for a permanent chief executive with expertise in credit, artificial intelligence, and fintech. Garg characterized himself as capable of driving results but acknowledged he lacks the empathy needed for true leadership, so he plans to remain as the public face of the company while letting a new leader take the helm.
Better is pursuing several business expansion avenues that Garg emphasized during the call. The company has inked a deal to launch home equity lines of credit through Credit Karma and is working to restart conversations with five other major partners whose relationships stalled during the recent leadership turmoil. Additionally, Better is going "full speed ahead" with expanding its wholesale mortgage channel, moving beyond its historical focus on direct-to-consumer lending. The company is also leveraging artificial intelligence to improve conversion rates and lower production costs through machine learning and other advanced tools.
Garg also outlined plans for a stock repurchase program when conditions allow, arguing that Better's shares are undervalued compared to other technology-focused mortgage lenders. The company expects to have more than one hundred forty million dollars in combined cash after the Birmingham Bank sale closes, which Garg projects will happen within three to four months. He indicated Better should not need additional capital infusions as it works toward financial sustainability over the next twelve months.
What I am seeing locally here in the Bay Area is that mortgage lenders continue to navigate a complex landscape, and Better's restructuring story is one many in our industry are watching. For Fremont and East Bay buyers and sellers, the real question is whether Better can execute on these ambitious targets and stabilize as a lending partner. The company's focus on technology and efficiency improvements could eventually benefit consumers, but the immediate management transition and partnership rebuilding are signs that stability should be the priority right now.
