The Intermediary – February 2025 - Flipbook - Page 59
Q&A
that continually commits to giving something back
to the industry. Working at Brilliant, having that
platform and that background, enables a perfect
foundation to build this event from.
You mentioned that you’ve wanted
to do this event for years, why has it
been on your mind?
I travel around and attend all these fantastic
events, and as I say, there are some amazing
speakers in our industry. DA brokers in general
will not have the opportunity to experience these
often spectacular occasions, listening to those
amazing speakers that enlightenment and inspire
me personally, so organising the UK Mortgage
Convention has given me an amazing chance to
bring that same experience to more brokers.
Since Covid-19, many brokers have shifted
to remote working, and our broker clients
now include not just the larger companies, but
also a significant number of smaller firms and
independent brokerages that we’ve worked with
for years.
For many of these brokers, especially the oneand two-person operations, working remotely can
feel isolating, even lonely, and they don’t have the
opportunity to connect with others, have a chat
and a laugh, share frustrations about the industry,
or celebrate the successes.
Bringing it to a personal level, I like to think of
myself as very self-motivated, but I still need to be
around people who inspire me, and I am lucky to
have colleagues and peers that do just that.
More than anything, this event offers a chance
for brokers to engage with their peers.
Many are doing incredible things in an industry
that’s evolved so rapidly over the past few years,
and they can share a coffee or a beer with others,
hear their stories, and exchange ideas.
I can also guarantee they’ll have a really fun and
fabulous day.
What are you hoping delegates get
out of the day?
I hope they feel inspired. I hope they feel
motivated. I hope they feel it’s been a fun,
engaging day and they feel emboldened – for
themselves and their businesses – with knowledge
and tips and nuggets of information.
I hope that they feel that they’re in a good place
to go back, feel positive, and incorporate some of
the day’s learnings into their businesses.
In terms of relationship-building, what I would
say to every delegate attending is to come with
an open mind and a positive attitude. There are so
many things that will be going on there that will
give them super networking opportunities and I
hope they reconnect with old friends and build
new friendships.
The important thing is that every single broker
goes home wanting to come again next year.
A lot of people at the event will be
looking for insight into how to deal
with ongoing turbulence in 2025 –
what are you looking out for in the
year ahead?
I was hoping we might have a different game this
year after the madness of 2020 to 2024.
Even in my time in the industry, this has been
the most volatile period. It’s been absolutely crazy,
and I was hoping that we might have a different
ball to play with this year.
But – certainly for the coming few months –
economic turbulence at home and abroad looks
to be setting us up for another year of interest
rate uncertainty, affordability concerns for clients,
housing supply challenges.
There’s going to be a lot of the same, particularly
for the first few months.
However, we’re lucky enough to be working in
one of the most resilient industries in the world.
I’ve got no doubt that mortgage brokers,
particularly those who take the time to equip
themselves with as much knowledge as possible,
will find the way through.
They’ll find the right pass at the right time,
they’ll adapt their businesses as and when needed,
and while there is the obvious uncertainty, there is
also much to be positive about, and it could be an
outstanding year for those that can adapt quickly.
The integration of technology and automation
is going to be big going forward. In fact, I think
we might have seen a lot more automations and
integrations so far, had it not been for the madness
of the market over the past few years. We’ll see a
lot more of that.
We’ve still got sustainability and green living
trying to find its path in the industry. While this
area has been big, and has been on everyone’s
tongues for quite a few years, I don’t think lenders
have been able to find that exact gap in the
market. Nevertheless, it will continue to grow, the
issue isn’t going to go away, and that will certainly
be a challenge for lenders.
Buy-to-let (BTL) mortgages again face new
challenges, particularly after the Autumn Budget.
However, I also feel a lot of energy and positivity
across that sector, especially from the industry
voices I’ve spoken with. While getting ready for the →
February 2025 | The Intermediary
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