Hollingworth (pictured) has taken up the role of distribution director with responsibility for building the lender’s team and distribution strategy as it launches.
The firm announced its arrival at the end of last year, promising to automate the whole mortgage application process focusing on using data.
Hollingworth told Mortgage Solutions: “I’m absolutely delighted to be joining M:Qube and we have a plan to bring real tangible change to the mortgage market in the months ahead.
“I’m really looking forward to launching our lending proposition and getting out and about meeting some old and hopefully some new colleagues in the weeks ahead, to let them know what we are all about.
“We’ll be building a team so we will be hiring salespeople as soon as possible and we have a plan for going to market which will involve the help of distributors, clubs, networks and packagers.
“We’re not planning to limit distribution, but we have to be mindful of capacity so will have a roll out at launch with handpicked distribution with a view to onboarding others as quickly as possible,” she added.
Buy-to-let first
To start with the lender will be operating in the buy-to-let market but will move into the residential space.
It will be based on its own platform but will initially be lending funds from other sources using rules and criteria from those funders.
The firm is aiming to maximise the use of technology to speed up the mortgage process. It is effectively removing the decision in principal stage, with the intention of issuing binding offers where required – whether based on an automated valuation or subject to an in-person valuation.
“The systems and processes have all been tested and we’re now working on the products that will be on the platform,” Hollingworth continued.
“There will be quite a lot fewer questions on our applications because of all the data we have got access to.”
Rapid market change
Hollingworth is joining M:Qube from Bluestone where she was sales and marketing director and part of the executive team for nine months.
She noted that the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the market meant she was not able to carry out what she had originally planned to do there.
“I went to Bluestone as they are seen as a real innovator and I wanted to lead the associated scale up of distribution.
“During the Covid lockdown it became clear to me that the mortgage market would change more rapidly and extensively than I originally thought.
“Therefore I decided to move to a firm which is reimagining the mortgage market, as I believe that this is the direction the industry will accelerate toward,” she said.
Hollingworth was previously proposition director at Mortgage Advice Bureau, and prior to that sales director at Intrinsic.
M:Qube chief operating officer Richard Fitch, said: “We are incredibly pleased to have someone of Emma’s calibre join.
“Being able to recruit someone with Emma’s talent speaks volumes for the strength of our proposition and holds us in great stead for developing really strong relationships with our distribution partners”
