Better Founder Vishal Garg Claims Majority Shareholder Backing in Bid to Retake Control
Vishal Garg, the founder and former chief executive officer of digital mortgage lender Better Home & Finance Holding Co., has initiated a formal effort to reclaim control of the company’s leadership and board structure. Just ten days after the company appointed board member Daniel Lewis as interim CEO, Garg delivered a formal letter to the board stating that he has gathered signed declarations from shareholders representing a majority of the company's total voting power. Represented by high-profile attorney Alex Spiro, Garg warned that these shareholder declarations could be leveraged to force a special meeting if the board declines to execute his demanded restructuring plan.
Under Garg's proposed framework, all current board directors would be required to resign with the exception of Garg himself, Michael Farello, and Hugh Frater. To demonstrate alignment with public investors, Garg offered to take an annual salary of $1 until the company achieves profitability and pledged to personally purchase $30 million of Better stock, with $10 million executed within five trading days of an agreement. The restructuring outline also calls for launching a committee-led search for a permanent CEO, after which Garg would transition to either chairman or chief product and innovation officer, while continuing cost-cutting measures and completing the pending $74 million divestiture of the firm's UK banking division.
The governance showdown arrives amid ongoing financial pressure following Better's public debut in 2023 via a merger with Aurora Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company. The firm's share value has tumbled more than 90% since going public, and second-quarter 2026 results revealed an adjusted EBITDA loss of $14 million, with projected third-quarter losses expanding to between $15 million and $18 million. These figures mark a setback from earlier guidance promising profitability by late 2026 after eleven consecutive loss-making quarters.
Despite earnings headwinds, operational data provided in the disclosure highlights significant gains in core mortgage origination efficiency. Between early 2024 and mid-2026, quarterly revenue rose from $20 million to $54.7 million, while funded loan volume grew from $600 million to $1.67 billion. Garg credited the expansion of the firm's proprietary Tinman AI platform for reducing loan production costs from approximately $12,000 to under $3,000 per loan. Garg claims that under stable conditions, the core operating model can generate $5 million to $10 million in monthly positive adjusted EBITDA, though macroeconomic disruptions remain a key variable.
For mortgage industry professionals, real estate investors, and consumer borrowers watching the digital lending landscape, corporate infighting at major tech-driven originators underscores the tension between aggressive operational scaling and board-level stability. While leadership battles can create short-term uncertainty around platform strategy and partnership structures, operational managers within Better's subsidiaries, such as NEO Home Loans, report that day-to-day loan origination practices remain focused on execution. The concrete practical implication for real estate partners and borrowers is that underlying loan origination channels and software infrastructure continue to function as normal, though long-term platform terms and product availability will depend on whether Garg successfully reconstitutes the board or enters a protracted proxy contest.
Source: HousingWire
