FR: Tell us a bit about your background and your entry into the mortgage market.
I first started working for L&C 22 years ago, almost to the day, originally joining the business as a mortgage and protection adviser after a friend recommended that I should apply. Prior to that I’d been an apprentice at Bristol Rovers and had hopes of becoming a professional footballer. But I had to rethink after I was released at eighteen.
It was hard to believe what a decision joining L&C would prove to be for me and my career. I loved it from the very beginning, and throughout all the different roles I’ve had, all of which comes down to the people.
FR: You’ve just celebrated your one year anniversary as CEO at L&C – how have you settled into the role and what are your highs and lows over the past 12 months?
It was a really proud moment to be appointed CEO and I’ve loved every minute of it.
We’ve had some tough times as well as good at L&C over the last five years. This has built resilience in many unsung heroes. Covid made for a challenging time for us, as a sizeable business shifting from office to home working virtually overnight.
The biggest high for me is to see the enthusiasm and engagement of our colleagues hitting new levels. It’s a vibrant place to work with a strong culture where the expectation is for everyone to work for a common cause and to make our customers’ experience even better.
Taking the business back to profitability is the result of all those efforts and a huge achievement for everyone in the business.
Any negatives would probably stem from the fact that I’d love for us to be further forward but that will be me being impatient. There’s so much more that L&C can achieve with the opportunity in front of us and I have to remember that it takes time!
FR: What trends do you predict for the year ahead in the mortgage market?
Improved mortgage rates are hugely important to boost confidence and see more activity return in the purchase market. It’s looking like that will still take more time to return to higher levels so we will be making sure that we are ready for when that does happen.
The remortgage market is huge again this year and we’re certainly seeing that and expect it to continue. Rate movement remains hard to predict but by making sure we are working in the interests of the customer, we believe we’ll make the most of the opportunities in the market. We were proud to save customers £40m last year through our Rate check service that ensures customers review their rate if better deals come on the market.
In the wider market there’s no way that the AI conversation will fizzle out and we will continue to explore how that can help our colleagues. I still see that being something that will give them more time to spend with customers, rather than being used to remove people from the process.
Although technology will play a big part in our mission to improve customer experience that won’t be at the expense of advice. I believe that advice should only have a bigger part to play for customers navigating a complex and often volatile market.
FR: Are there challenges for advice and brokers?
The recent consultation from the FCA may have some positive elements for advisers but easing the path for lenders to increase the amount of execution only business is not one of them. Customers should have choice but I fear the regulator is treading a difficult line if it suggests that execution only is a better outcome than advice for borrowers.
The Mortgage Market Review recognised that too many customers thought that they were being advised when they were really only being provided with information. Rowing back toward a position that could see any degree of ambiguity for customers would be a step backwards. The whole market can understand why the regulator wants to revisit whether there may be red tape that could be done away with but the message here risks undermining the undoubted value of advice.
Whilst the recent programme shining a light on conditional selling is positive in helping to drive out poor practice, it can also serve to undermine customer confidence in advisers more generally.
I believe someone needs to step in now to promote stronger policing by introducing regulation but in the meantime it’s vital that we all continue to educate customers on what they should be able to expect, so they can be better placed to make informed decisions.
FR: L&C are proud sponsors of the Financial Reporter Women’s Recognition Awards for 2025 and 2026 – why is this so important for L&C and how are you tackling the ongoing issue of diversity and inclusion in the industry?
It is important to me that everyone can be themselves at L&C so that we all get the benefits from the viewpoints across the whole team. We are on a journey and can do more but we will keep working hard and continuing to be curious to get better.
The Awards are a brilliant event and a great chance to recognise all the amazing work in the industry. That’s why we wanted to put our support behind the Women’s Recognition Awards, as this is not just about L&C but also showing our commitment to do our bit to help improve diversity and inclusion in the market. Things have come a long way but there’s more that can be achieved if everyone works together to make a difference.
FR: If you could read one headline about the mortgage market in 2025, what would it be?
'Regulator underlines the benefits of advice as it removes barriers for homebuyers'.
There’s been a good degree of innovation in the market from lenders to help more first-time buyers get on the ladder. Boosting the flexibility around affordability coupled with the regulator’s move to clarify what’s possible in the approach to stress testing will really help.
If that can come with a boost to the supply of housing then the market will be in a much better position to thrive without sending prices endlessly higher.
The FCA consultation has some positive elements in trying to drive more competition in the remortgage market by addressing borrower concerns about meeting affordability tests. However, it’s important that advice remains a crucial part of that process. We all know that borrowers want and need help in finding the right deal amongst the myriad of different options on the market.
It’s hard to see how opening the door even slightly to a market that encourages an increasing level of execution only will benefit customers in the longer run.
