She has been promoted into the newly created role after being with the firm as a mortgage adviser for six years. She will oversee the Midlands region and lead a team of mortgage advisers while supporting their development and managing recruitment.
Whitehead will also be responsible for growing relationships with existing introducers and housing developers, as well as forming new partnerships.
Her appointment builds on Just Mortgages New Build Division’s expansion plans which saw adviser numbers jump from three to 32 over five years.
Whitehead said: “I am really looking forward to expanding my team of advisers and helping more people buy their dream homes.
“Equally important is building on existing and new relationships with introducers and developers. With housing demand exceeding supply, I except it is going to be an interesting and eventful year.”
John Doughty, financial services director of Just Mortgages new build division said her promotion was “thoroughly deserved”.
He added: “We had a record year in 2021 helping more people move into a new home than ever before. The new build market is extremely popular, and we will be taking on at least 10 new advisers this year to cope with demand.”
More 2 Life appoints lead surveyor and lead conveyancer
More 2 Life has appointed Graham Munday as its in-house lead surveyor and Jennifer Gadson as in-house lead conveyancer.
Munday has over 35 years’ experience in the valuation and compliance sectors. Previous roles include a two-year stint at E.surv most recently as senior surveying quality manager and 30 years at Colleys, most recently as technical surveyor manager.
At More 2 Life, he will collaborate with funding partners to control risk exposure and support a flexible approach to lending criteria through the use of his experience with internal data and applications.
Gadson has more than 18 years of experience in residential conveyancing. She will work alongside the More 2 Life’s legal partners to identify breaks and inefficiencies in its process with a view to improve this and speed it up.
Gadson qualified as a solicitor in 2006 and was formerly a partner at Birchall Blackburn law, before joining Slater and Gordon. She has a specialism in leasehold ownership and held accreditations by the Association of Leasehold Enfranchisement Practitioners.
Dave Harris, CEO of More 2 Life, said the later life sector was in a period of strong growth, with record numbers of homeowners releasing wealth from their properties.
He added: “With this rush of interest, it’s more important than ever that we can quickly and efficiently process applications, so advisers and their clients can release equity when they need it.
“We’re delighted to welcome Graham and Jennifer to the team to support this process. Their experience and expertise is an ideal fit to enhance our services – including improving our application to completion times – streamline our internal processes and offer advisers a comprehensive package of support for their clients’ equity release applications.”
Munday said he was looking forward to supporting More 2 Life’s efforts in helping homeowners and advisers understand the valuation process and approval terms.
Gadson said she wanted to streamline the back and forth which often happened during the application stage and deliver a faster service.
“Offering in-house conveyancing support to the internal team will cut down on time lost, and I’m eager to get involved and start this new chapter of my career,” she added.
