Jenny Watts, MD marketplace at digital broker Habito and previous director of lending operations at Metro Bank, has been promoted to COO, effective immediately.
Watts joined the London-based digital broker just nine months ago and oversees the development, recruitment and advice services at the mortgage adviser.
Earlier this week, Habito agreed an £18.5m series B capital-raising deal in its latest funding round, which it plans to use to raise profile, build its brand and invest in technology. The adviser has raised £27.5m so far in its progression from series A to B funding over the last nine months, after a £5.5m deal agreed in January.
The investment round was led by international venture capital firm Atomico, with participation from existing investors: Ribbit Capital, Mosaic Ventures, and Revolutionary (Ad)Ventures.
Habito also said it will be working with ‘several major retail banks and high street lenders to integrate its technology and systems directly, in order to achieve its ambition of facilitating real-time mortgage approvals, as well as applications.’
Before Habito, Watts spent over four years with Metro Bank and was formerly UK head of lending operations at Irish Bank Resolution Corporation Limited, formerly Anglo Irish Bank.
To see more on Habito, view our series of Tech Talks, sponsored by Capita, featuring Watts and Capita’s Jon Peart.
Victoria Hartley is contributing editor at Mortgage Solutions, Specialist Lending Solutions, Your Money and Your Mortgage at London-based publishing company AE3 Media.
She has an MA in Radio from Goldsmiths after gaining a 2:1 in a Comparative American Studies BA at Warwick University. She also holds a TEFL qualification and taught overseas in Mexico and Japan from 1994 to 1997.
Her role includes editorial oversight of the news, analysis and features, event content management and strategic and editorial consultancy for the AE3 Media group. She is an experienced video, broadcast and live-event host and regularly chairs web and podcast debates and interviews.
Multiple award nominations have resulted in two wins: Santander Media Awards, trade journalist of the year and Headlinemoney Awards, mortgage journalist of the year (B2B). Here is one of the award-winning pieces: https://www.mortgagesolutions.co.uk/news/2011/07/21/exclusive-tale-bailey-fraud-witness/
Previous roles include editorships of Mortgage Solutions, consumer title What Mortgage and trade title Credit Today as well as a stint freelancing for a variety of outlets including The Guardian and Which? Money.
