"The residential purchase market remains relatively robust and we are extremely positive that levels will continue to rise in the coming weeks and months"
FR: What are the key principles behind Pure's service offering?
The key has been the strength of the relationships forged over the years with both our lender and broker clients. We don’t use any automated systems. Our clients can pick up the phone knowing that they will be able to speak to any one of the team directly and this personal approach has always been our ethos.
We make sure that we get to know all our clients. Many of them are now personal friends who we socialise with outside of the working environment. We understand the importance of loyalty, commitment and the benefits of operating as such a tight knit unit. We really do care about our clients and each other. This approach has become second nature and is one which we like to think sets us apart from other panel managers.
FR: What impact has the recent market turmoil had on the valuations sector and your relationships with lender clients?
The strength of relationships we have built up over the years means we can have open and honest conversations with our lender clients. We engage with them on a regularly basis to ensure we are fully up to date on market trends and in terms of how we can support them on the strategies they are employing to deal with any high and lows they may be having as a business.
From our perspective, we have surveyors who we have worked with for well over a decade who have recently seen a slight downturn in valuation instructions. This is obviously concerning but we are in a position to convey reassuring messages from our lender partners to alleviate many of their immediate concerns around any medium to longer-term lulls in the residential purchase market. In the meantime, the more specialist sectors are likely to take up any valuation slack.
FR: Will the events of late 2022 result in a prolonged valuations dip and what are your expectations for Q1 and beyond?
Despite still being in somewhat of a transitional period for the mortgage market, strong levels of business are evident across the property spectrum, so much so that February represented a record month of valuation instructions for the business, a figure which came as a very pleasant, if slightly unexpected, surprise.
We’ve seen an uplift in business levels across the buy-to-let, second charge and bridging sectors, even in areas such a land valuations. The residential purchase market remains relatively robust and we are extremely positive that levels will continue to rise in the coming weeks and months as lenders continue to up their presence, headline rates steadily fall, and greater levels of competition emerge at the higher LTV bands.
FR: You work closely with a number of specialist lenders. Do you see the specialist markets as an area of opportunity for advisers in 2023 and, if so, how and where might these opportunities arise?
The specialist mortgage market has become increasingly active in recent years, and I can only see this increasing in the near future. Opportunities will arise as mainstream lenders may hold back on products for longer or not offer the level of LTVs that a specialist lender might. A factor which is especially evident given the cost-of-living crisis where the average borrower could well have less capital to put forward and require a higher LTV offering.
FR: It’s been just over a year since the sad passing of your father and founder of Pure Panel Management David Gillam. How important is it to maintain his legacy and how has the business adapted?
I can’t say that it’s been an easy time adjusting to the loss of such a huge part of both my personal and working life and he left behind some enormous shoes to fill. However, in many ways it has helped being part of the company that he built as, here at Pure, we are a real family and that is largely down to him and the culture he created.
The vast majority of the team have been here since its inception back in 2010. The commitment they have shown towards the company and the love and respect that they had for my dad has helped us to move forward and we will continue honouring his memory by going from strength to strength as a business and as a family.
