"I expect confidence to return and buyer appetite to hold strong as the economy starts to settle down and stability returns to the markets. "
FR: Tell us about where you came from and your current role at Norton.
I have worked for the Norton Group for 25 years, first joining in 1999 as a financial administrator and working my way up to become head of loan broking at Norton Broker Services, a role I have held since January 2015.
This has enabled me to have a broad and thorough understanding of the business and all its departments.
My current role is extremely varied with many challenges and I specialise in second charge loans. I have gained extensive experience in this area over the years, particularly during some major global economic challenges such as the financial crisis and the Covid pandemic.
One of the key aspects of my role is building and developing relationships with lenders and brokers as well as maintaining and developing internal systems and procedures. I am also responsible for marketing and event planning and the setting, maintain and monitoring of team and individual KPIs.
Having worked for the company for a long period of time, I have developed excellent and longstanding relationships with lenders, brokers and BDMs. This has helped me gain insight into the needs and demands of customers, which in turn enables us to improve our offering to provide more choice for borrowers.
I am always looking to grow and develop professionally and personally and I am currently working towards/have achieved a diploma in counselling.
FR: Norton Group is celebrating 50 years as a business this year. What have been the most significant changes you have seen during your time with the firm?
There has been a great deal of economic and regulatory change in the second charge market over the last couple of decades, with the credit crunch in particular bringing major changes to the way in which lenders and brokers operate.
This required the business to adopt more streamlined processes that would enable us to quickly implement changes and improve underwriting quality, particularly around more stringent affordability and creditworthiness checks.
Demand for more specialist lending products has also increased, due to greater need and improved awareness and education of the products and how they work. This has helped the market to grow in a compliant and sustainable way and has also opened up borrowing options to many customers that may have previously been excluded from the high street.
Although there is still a great deal of work to be done in this regard, all these developments have been good for the specialist lending market, in particular, the most recent changes resulting from Covid, which has led to more automated and paperless working practices and the ease of working remotely.
FR: What do you consider to be the greatest accomplishment of the mortgage market over the last 50 years?
Consumer Duty is a great accomplishment as it sets a higher standard of protection across the financial services industry and ensures businesses are required to prove they are acting in the best interest of their customers.
Our customers have always been at the forefront of our culture and values and we are constantly reviewing our process, delivering outstanding customer service and ensuring the products and services we offer are the right outcome for the customer.
This has been even more important in the last few years where increased market volatility has presented significant affordability challenges to many borrowers.
FR: What does the future hold for you and the business?
On a personal level, it is my passion to continue to drive the growth of our business within the brokerage by working effectively with our lenders and introducers. Continuing to invest in our people is also critical to ensure we maintain the reputation we have in the industry around innovation, longevity and the quality of the service we continue to deliver.
In terms of the business and wider mortgage industry, I expect confidence to return and buyer appetite to hold strong as the economy starts to settle down and stability returns to the markets.
The UK is a country of aspirational homeowners and I would like to see increased investment in house building and planning for the long term from the new government. This includes realising the importance of the specialist mortgage market as a key driver for economic growth as well as its importance as an integral part of the wider housing market.
FR: How is Norton marking its 50th birthday?
There are a number of celebrations organised with colleagues and friends within the industry to mark the occasion, with a major party being held in September with our work colleagues, lenders, and introducers.
Over 180 guests are attending the event, which is a testament to the relationships we have built over the years. It will be an occasion where we can enjoy celebrating with our colleagues and employees as well as the people who we have worked with for many years to celebrate the success of all our hard work over the last 50 years.
