Thomas
Steer
Head of Underwriting
LendInvest
Thomas Steer liked property and wanted to get into work, so he took an apprenticeship at 17. Working on live cases sparked an interest in lending that has since taken him to head of underwriting at LendInvest, where he develops products, processes and the people making lending decisions.
2026
"What brings a broker back is being able to pick up the phone, get a straight answer, and have someone senior sort the problem out."
Taking the lead in lending
Thomas' story so far...
Thomas Steer didn't leave school with a grand career plan. He liked property, wanted to get started and, at 17, joined second charge lender Step One Finance as an apprentice. Learning through live cases soon got him interested in the decisions behind lending: how to help a deal progress while understanding the risk.
He joined LendInvest as a mortgage underwriter in 2019. Seven years on, he leads underwriting across its lending products, drawing on the experience of seeing cases at each stage of the process.
One idea he has helped bring to life is the lender's semi commercial range. Thomas took it from initial proposal to launch in six months, working through credit policy, funder support, technology and training. It launched in July 2026 and had received £20 million of applications by October. He also changed the application process so underwriting begins once the valuation is back, and reshaped case management into an underwriter associate team. Together, those changes increased underwriting capacity by 50% without adding headcount.
Thomas stays close to brokers through visits, guides and webinars, making time to hear where cases get difficult. He holds CeMAP and the LIBF CPSP and is working towards MRICS to understand property risk from the surveyor's perspective. He wants lending to make good use of technology while keeping experienced people available when a case needs a conversation.
Thomas' career highlights
- Led the launch of LendInvest's semi commercial range in six months, with £20 million of applications received by October 2026.
- Increased underwriter capacity by 50% without increasing headcount through changes to application handling and case management.
- Progressed from mortgage underwriter in 2019 to head of underwriting across all lending products.
Who else made the 2026 list?
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