Peter Barnes appointed head of MfB for Intermediares with brief to relaunch packaging offer

The new role will see Barnes (pictured) help to relaunch and expand the specialist broker’s packaging offer, with responsibility for packaging and deal placement.

Barnes joined MfB as a consultant mortgage broker in 2019, having served 29 years with a high street bank. His areas of expertise include relationship management – especially having handled day-to-day lending requirements for a portfolio of 250 SMEs for 16 years – as well as underwriting, internal audit and project management.

Barnes said: “IFAs and accountants can handle residential cases with their eyes closed and hands tied. But with high street lenders not as proactive as they were, the usual ports of call for commercial mortgages, bridging loans, property development finance and complex buy-to-let have dried up.

“If they don’t have the expertise, access or time, we can place their deals for them. We’ll work with them, the lender and third parties, leaving them to work with their client.

“On the packager side, we can do the decision in principle and full mortgage application, with updates as the case progresses through a dedicated consultant,” Barnes added.

In the new role, Barnes will report to chief operating officer Gavin Richardson.

Richardson said: “Peter understands deals from all angles and consistently delivers successful outcomes. He’s the right man to relaunch our intermediary offer, and this is the right time to do it.

“High street lenders have made so many relationship managers redundant in their rush to telephony, that IFAs and accountants no longer have a point of contact to place commercial cases direct.

“Peter will pitch packager services at brokers who already know which lender they want but can’t submit direct. The deal-placement service will be aimed at less experienced and time-pressed intermediaries who want to partner with a master broker able to source the right lender and to structure a successful deal.

“We have the right man in charge, the contacts, the negotiating skills and the determination to get the deal done,” Richardson said.