The British Specialist Lending Award winners are nominated by people from across the spectrum of the UK mortgage industry. The winners were selected using a transparent, robust, three-tier process designed to make selection as fair and independent as possible.
The process
The first stage of the process is an invitation to the industry to nominate the individuals deemed worthy of recognition for their achievements over the last 12 months.
Once the first phase of the process is closed a shortlist is drawn up in each category based on the number and spread of nominations for a particular individual. A weighting system is applied to the overall number of nominations cast to ensure greater emphasis is placed on the relevant nominations cast from outside the nominees’ own business.
Those nominees that make the shortlist in each category are then asked to submit a supporting testimonial based on the following criteria:
– Key achievements the individual has delivered in the last 12 months
– Key strengths that deliver value to their role and the marketplace they serve
– Any positive contributions made to the wider intermediary market beyond the contribution to their business performance
A respected industry panel is then used to assess the testimonials and ultimately decide the winners.
For the BUSINESS LEADER categories and OTHER the judging panel make their recommendation of a winner on the strength of the testimonials and their knowledge of the individuals on the shortlists.
For the BROKER and LENDER categories, those on the shortlist in each category are invited to attend a 15 minute interview in front of the judging panel. The winners of the broker and lender categories are determined from these interviews based on the recommendation of the judges.
Two of the awards are decided separately. The first, the Press Spokesperson of the Year award, is chosen by the editorial team at Specialist Lending Solutions and recognises the individual who has consistently championed the specialist sector and, through their work with the media, encouraged education and transparency to restore the integrity of the specialist arena, promote excellence and drive a wider consumer understanding of the opportunities in the sector. And our Lifetime Achievement Award is chosen by the Specialist Lending Solutions publishing team and is given to the key industry figure that has made a significant contribution to the Specialist market above and beyond their day-to-day role over a significant number of years.
