FR: Congratulations on your recent promotion to sales and distribution director! Can you tell us more about the role and what your key priorities will be?
Thank you! While I’ll still be working across Shawbrook’s retail mortgage brands - TML and Bluestone - I’ll now be stepping up to lead our overall sales and distribution strategy, with support from our talented team. Our focus is firmly on driving growth and increasing our market share. This means strengthening relationships with our intermediary partners and working closely with our product teams to ensure our mortgage offerings remain competitive and responsive to customer needs. I’ll also be liaising with other parts of the business, including product development, marketing, and distribution, to ensure we’re aligned in delivering against these goals.
FR: What do you see as your biggest opportunity to make an impact on the leadership team?
I’m passionate about nurturing and developing talent within the sales and distribution teams, so I'll be championing training, mentorship, and development programs to help build a strong pipeline of future leaders. So much of driving innovation and success hinges on open communication, knowledge sharing, and teamwork - and I want to make sure I’m leading by example. That means being transparent, supportive, and making sure we celebrate achievements across the board.
FR: You started at The Mortgage Lender (TML) back in 2018 as a BDM. Looking back, what advice would you give to your past self, and what’s been your biggest lesson along the way?
One thing that’s become clear to me over the past seven years is that consistent effort pays off - stay committed to your goals and the results will follow. I’d also tell my past self to believe in your own abilities and to back your ideas. Don’t shy away from expressing your views or contributing your thoughts, even if it feels small - your input can make a real difference.
FR: The launch of Shawbrook Retail Mortgages this year has created real momentum. How has the brand evolved since then - and what’s been driving that growth?
Coming together as one team has been a really important step to ensure that we can offer the best possible proposition and service to our brokers and their customers. We’re proud to maintain both the TML and Bluestone brands in the market and lean on each of their strong reputations. Across the two brands we can support such a wide part of the market, self-employed, complex credit, new build and specialist buy-to-let. A great example of this is the recent rollout of our visa criteria across both brands, higher LTVs and changes to our affordability model within Bluestone, all of which reflects our wider mission to reach and support more customers.
FR: Strong broker relationships have always been central to Shawbrook’s success. With your appointment, how are you looking to continue and evolve that commitment?
Strong broker relationships remain at the heart of everything we do, and we’re committed to ongoing engagement and open dialogue. It’s about listening to brokers, understanding their evolving needs, and using their feedback to develop new products and propositions. As part of this, we’re continuing to introduce digital tools and process improvements to make it easier for brokers to do business with us, alongside improving speed and transparency. Recent examples of this include the launch of AVMs, auto income verification and DocuSign.
FR: Looking ahead, what’s next for Shawbrook Retail Mortgages in terms of innovation, operational efficiency and supporting your broker partners?
A major focus for us is streamlining processes across our two retail brands and enhancing the broker experience. This will reduce turnaround times and create a more productive experience overall. On top of that, we want to continue highlighting the barriers to homeownership and the individuals who struggle with it the most - first-time buyers, those with credit blips in their history, and those with non-PAYE jobs. Our goal is to support these customers more effectively through inclusive, flexible solutions.
