Broker firm Just Mortgages has promoted Ben Allkins (pictured) to the newly-created role of head of mortgages and protection for its self-employed division, and announced investment into the division.
As part of the role he will manage the strategic direction of the division, improve team efficiency and support brokers.
The self-employed team was launched in 2016 with three brokers, and now numbers close to 400.
The firm said that it will invest £1m into the self-employed division over the next year to upgrade its support and systems. As part of his role Allkins will oversee the investment.
Allkins has worked at Just Mortgages for around five years, most recently as regional director where he supported self-employed mortgage brokers in the Midlands and South West.
Prior to that he worked at Countrywide for nearly 17 years in various senior roles, including financial services director for mortgages. He has also held roles at Royal Bank of Scotland.
Allkins said: “The self-employed division only succeeds if our brokers are successful, so my role is to ensure we invest in areas that make tangible differences for our team.
“While the self-employed team at Just Mortgages already receives industry-leading support, we will look at all the pinch points where we can improve and make changes to make our brokers lives easier.”
Anna is currently the deputy editor for Mortgage Solutions and editor for Specialist Lending Solutions. She has worked as a journalist since 2019, having secured her Gold Standard NCTJ diploma from News Associates in a fast-track six-month course.
She started her career as a report at specialist publication The Insurance Insider covering a wide range of areas before joining Mortgage Solutions and Specialist Lending Solutions in 2021.
In her role, she helps put together and structure the news agenda for the day and writes up press releases, reports, interviews, analyses and exclusives across both titles. She also commissions blogs for Specialist Lending Solutions and hosts online masterclasses and in-person events across the business.
She has been shortlisted for three journalism awards, which include BIBA Journalist and Media Awards Scoop of Year Award in 2020, Headline Money Mortgage Journalist of the Year Award (B2B) in 2022 and 2023.
Prior to being a journalist, Anna worked in ecommerce across Snow + Rock, Cycle Surgery and Runners Need websites, and before that worked at specialist financial PR firm Rostrum.
In her spare time, Anna enjoys reading, seeing live music, and cooking for friends and family. When she gets a chance, she also enjoys hiking, skiing and indoor rock climbing.