British Mortgage Awards Categories 2016

Broker

Newcomer Distributor sponsored by Santander for Intermediaries
Nominees should have up to two years' experience in the mortgage industry. The award is aimed at those individuals who have made significant strides in their respective roles in the last 12 months. They will have demonstrated first class results, attitude and ambition and have ample evidence that they have consistently overachieved. The category is open to employees of businesses that distribute products in the intermediated mortgage channel. This could include but is not restricted to employees of mortgage brokers, mortgage networks, mortgage clubs, and distributors of legal, surveying, insurance and other mortgage related products.

New Build sponsored by Legal & General Mortgage Club
The award will go to the adviser who is a true new build expert. They will be able to demonstrate the delivery of a significant volume of new build business during the last 12 months. They will have a first class knowledge of the relevant government schemes and will have used their knowledge to effectively engage clients with quality advice in this sector.

Large Loans sponsored by Brightstar Financial
This award will go to the adviser who has made a real impact in the large loans sector. They will understand the different needs of clients in this sector and intuitively know how to deliver comprehensive advice.

Equity Release sponsored by Metropolis Surveying Services
Nominees will have proven expertise in the Equity Release sector. They will demonstrate empathy with clients and an exhaustive knowledge of the product spectrum and the concerns and needs of their client base. Nominees should clearly demonstrate their specialism in this sector.

Buy to Let sponsored by Paragon
The award will go to the adviser who has delivered a consistent level of quality business to lenders over the last 12 months. They will have strong relationships with lenders, a good understanding of the buy-to-let market and have demonstrated they are working in the best interest of their clients.

First-time buyer sponsored by Skipton Building Society
Nominees will have consistently delivered high quality advice over the last year. They will understand the specific needs of the first-time buyer using a high level of product knowledge and comprehension of available schemes. They will have also demonstrated their initiative by offering advice on saving, budgeting and the options around parental help.

Specialist Broker sponsored by Castle Trust Capital
This award is aimed at those brokers who concentrate on the specialist market: bridging, second charge, self-employed and complex borrowers. The winner will have good relationships with specialist lenders, a deep understanding of the specialist product niches and a proven track record in delivering the most appropriate deals to their customers.

Protection sponsored by VitalityLife
This award will go to the broker who has performed exceptionally well in protection business in the last 12 months. The chosen individual will have demonstrated an increase in protection penetration and conversion rates to both new and existing clients, ensuring customers have appropriate cover.

General Insurance sponsored by Legal & General Insurance
This award will go to the broker who has performed exceptionally well in general insurance business in the last 12 months. The chosen individual will have demonstrated an increase in general insurance penetration and conversion rates to both new and existing clients, ensuring customers have appropriate cover.

Overall sponsored by Virgin Money
This award will go to the intermediary who has outshone their peers. Someone who knows where to find the most appropriate products, whose customer service is second to none and who has made a clear difference to their firm over the last 12 months.

Marketeer sponsored by Rostrum
The award will go to the individual who has been instrumental in running the most effective marketing strategy. One that has captured the brand, and has changed or strengthened perceptions of their company’s offering in the market.

Technology Advocate sponsored by Niu Solutions
This award category will be applicable to somebody who has championed the use of technology to the betterment of their company and in turn the intermediary market and ultimately the consumer.

Press Spokesperson of the year*
The shortlist and judging will be carried out by the editorial team at AE3 Media. This person will know their products, their firm and their market in great detail. They will be pro-active, efficient and consistently deliver balanced, reasoned and thought-provoking market commentary.

Lender

Newcomer Product Provider sponsored by TenetLime
Nominees should have up to two years' experience in the mortgage industry. The award is aimed at those individuals who have made significant strides in their roles in the last 12 months. They will have demonstrated first class results, attitude and ambition and have ample evidence that they have consistently overachieved. The category is open to employees of mortgage lenders, general insurance and protection providers, legal services providers, and surveyors.

Operations/Credit Risk person of the year sponsored by Countrywide
The nominee will have delivered strong initiatives in the last year to improve the quality of business, overall performance and/or controls within their lender which demonstrates that they are exceptional in their position. They would be able to demonstrate a clear visible impact that their initiatives have had on the business. This award category is open to anyone with Operations/Credit Risk or Recoveries in their job title (directors, officers and managers).

Telephone Relationship Manager sponsored by Openwork
This award is aimed at those working in a telephony business development role. This individual will have a first class understand of a lenders' processes and products and will be able to communicate these in a way that the broker understands. They will quickly understand and promote change in a way that fits the relationship. They will support the brokers' business and will react and be there for their brokers when required. They will bring energy and passion to their role, displaying genuine advocacy for their brand.

Business Development sponsored by Alexander Hall Associates
The award will be given to the individual responsible for business development in a face to face capacity. This individual will always go the extra mile for their brokers. Someone who is always available, knows their products inside out and offers support and suggestions to the distribution channels they serve. They will take ownership of the relationships, ensuring that they consistently achieve positive results for the intermediary and their business.

Head of Sales and National Accounts sponsored by PMS
The nominee will either manage a sales force that successfully delivers core and cross sales targets and/ or design and implement the national account strategy with key intermediary partners. In either case the nominee must show an extensive understanding of intermediary business models and show that they can deliver value to both lender and intermediary. They should have the ability to act strategically and demonstrate outstanding leadership skills.

Business Leader

Specialist Distribution sponsored by Precise Mortgages
This award category will be applicable to those individuals that have demonstrated an exceptional commitment to the specialist arena. They will be able to demonstrate their depth of lender and broker relations and an entrepreneurial spirit which has seen their business adapt to the challenges of the changing specialist landscape.

Surveyor sponsored by eTech 
Nominees will embody the ethos of their firm; Delivering a consistently high quality offering, accurate reports and quick and efficient service.

Conveyancer sponsored by Mortgage Brain
Nominees will have demonstrated an innovative approach to problems, while pushing for a speedy and faultless service to clients.

Protection or General Insurance provider sponsored by Society of Mortgage Professionals
The nominees for this award will have demonstrated effective leadership of their business over the last 12 months. They will be able to show growth in sales and illustrate how their actions have helped embed insurance advice into the fabric of the mortgage intermediary channel.

Broker (Under 40 Advisers) sponsored by NatWest Intermediary Solutions
Nominees will have improved their firms standing through effective management and will have over the last 12 months made their business model more robust and profitable. Nominees will have also made an impact on the market outside of their firm over the last 12 months. Someone who has delivered consistently for their firm, but who has also worked for the good of the intermediary market itself.

Broker (40 and more Advisers) sponsored by Barclays
Nominees will have improved their firm's standing through effective management and will have over the last 12 months made their business model more robust and profitable. Nominees will have also made an impact on the market outside of their firm over the last 12 months. Someone who has delivered consistently for their firm, but who has also worked for the good of the intermediary market itself.

Mortgage Club sponsored by BM Solutions
The successful nominee will be someone who has successfully managed their business in the last 12 months, who understands the needs of both brokers and lenders and delivers a proposition that adds value to both parties.

Network sponsored by Halifax Intermediaries
This award will go to the nominee who has led their firm very effectively over the last 12 months, whether this is strengthening their lender relations, launching new services for ARs or taking a stand on issues that affect members

Intermediary Lender (less than £5bn gross lending p.a) sponsored by Kinleigh Folkard & Hayward
This award is for a star performer who is successfully running their business, which lends less than £5bn gross per year, with great leadership and authority. They will have shown a willingness to work with all parties to sustain and evolve the marketplace.

Intermediary Lender (£5bn or more gross lending p.a) sponsored by Mortgage Advice Bureau
The award is for a standout individual who provides leadership and authority. They will have overseen growth in their business in the last 12 months and shown a willingness to work with all parties to sustain and evolve the marketplace.

Lifetime Achievement Award* sponsored by Platform
The winner will be someone who is acknowledged by many to have devoted themselves to the sector for a significant period of time, and who has made a significant and positive difference to the market.

*NB: Please note that the Press Spokesperson of the year and the Lifetime Achievement Award categories are not open to public nominations. The shortlist and judging is carried out by the editorial and publishing teams at AE3 Media.

Voting Criteria

The British Mortgage Award winners were 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 Mortgage Solutions and recognises the individual who has consistently championed the mortgage industry and, through their work with the media, encouraged education and transparency to help raise consumer understanding of the key issues and communicated the potential hazards in the UK mortgage market well. And our Lifetime Achievement Award is chosen by the Mortgage Solutions publishing team and is given to the key industry figure that has made a significant contribution to the mortgage market above and beyond their day-to-day role over a significant number of years.