Double Olympic gold medal winner Dame Kelly Holmes (pictured, left) also gave a keynote speech at the conference, speaking about how to maintain a winning mindset and embed resilience into their businesses.
Adviser delegates heard industry updates and networked during the day, while listening to presentations from industry figures such as Esther Dijkstra, managing director for intermediaries at Lloyds Banking Group, David Morris, head of homes at Santander UK, and Stephanie Charman, chief executive of the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries (AMI).
Liz Martins, UK economist at HSBC UK, said there were “reasons to be more cheerful” about the UK economy as she continued to predict the Bank of England base rate would fall to 3% by the end of 2026.
She told the Stonebridge delegates: “There is a path for things to get better from here. It is a narrow path. There are plenty of pitfalls and risks along the way but there are reasons to be more cheerful for this year.
“The first is lower inflation. Our forecast is that we’ll be back down to 2.1% by April. We’ll briefly dip below the Bank of England’s target in the summer. We’ll be back around that more normal 2% level and I think all of us will really benefit from that because, as households, we all feel the impact [and] as businesses, it’s a problem.
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“It’s a problem for Rachel Reeves as well because it keeps interest rates and gilt yields higher. Lower inflation will help everybody, I think.”
Martins went on to say that, despite ongoing concerns over unemployment figures, wages have been rising more than inflation and interest rate cuts will help unlock that money so it can be spent in the economy. She also pointed out that the Chancellor built herself a bigger cushion in the last Budget, so 2026 should be a quieter year for fiscal policy, while business confidence is on the rise.
Delegates were also informed how to compete in the market by identifying upcoming opportunities, being aware of new regulations and the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to process documents.
As well as Stonebridge’s 24% rise in arranged mortgages, the network saw 11.3% more advisers joining in 2025.
There were also discussions on introducing protection earlier in the mortgage application process, following the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA’s) interim Pure Protection Market Study.
Rob Clifford (pictured, right), chief executive of Stonebridge, said: “It was a wonderful day and there was so much energy in the room. Dame Kelly was an inspiration and, with so much to celebrate at the network, the sense of self-belief and pride was palpable.
“I always enjoy seeing our members interact with each other because it’s the one time in the calendar where they really get to see how they’re part of something bigger. They see the culture they build with us reflected in advisers they’ve never met before, but will go on to build lasting relationships with.”
He added: “This is all being captured in the sector-leading growth we’re delivering, both in lending figures and adviser numbers. The day itself is never just a meet-and-greet, although it’s always superb fun. We send all our advisers away with a deeper understanding of the opportunities and challenges in front of them, and a lot of what happens on the day shapes how we amend our services over the next 12 months. It’s incredibly valuable all round.”
