He takes over from Darren Pescod, who founded the business. Pescod will step down as CEO and will become a minority stakeholder in the business.
Kirtikar has history with The Mortgage Broker, having joined as a consultant and then going on to become interim CEO role in 2020 and working at the firm for around two years during the pandemic.
Speaking to this publication, Kirtikar said: “The Mortgage Broker is a very strong brand, with some really skilled advisers within it. Having had some excellent achievements in the past, including top-rated customer reviews and award-winning brokers, I am delighted to have the opportunity to come back into the business having steered it through the pandemic, and really have the opportunity to help it grow.
“With presence across the UK, I aim to support its focus across the whole market.”
Kirtikar has a long history in financial services, leading Clever Mortgages and Clever Lending’s entry to market in 2015 and acting as managing director until 2020.
Clever Mortgages is a brokerage that specialises in helping those with bad or poor credit find the right mortgage, and Clever Lending offers specialist property finance solutions such as commercial mortgages, bridging and development finance and portfolio buy to lets.
Following his time at The Mortgage Broker, he went on to be a co-founder for Flycovr in 2021, which is a digital aviation insurance marketplace.
The Mortgage Broker was launched in 2011 and currently processes nearly half a billion pounds of mortgages per year, and over the next three years plans to help clients with mortgages to the value of £1bn per year.
Kirtikar said that the company is on a “growth plan” and is recruiting new advisers, having got 20-plus advisers on its roster already. These are a mixture of self-employed, employed and branded partners.
He continued that the firm would use “key technology to integrate with our partners and grow out a really consumer friendly onboarding process”.
“We were number one on Trustpilot during the pandemic for a reason. However, we want to take that service and make sure that we become a bit more commercial and enhance our partnership package whilst maintaining a consumer-facing brand,” Kirtikar said.
‘A fresh start for the business’
The Mortgage Broker is an Appointed Representative of the Mortgage Advice Bureau, with the MAB’s CEO Peter Brodnicki adding that he and MAB “wholeheartedly support Kirtikar in his purchase of TMBL and are completely behind him with this growth strategy”.
Kirtikar said that he wanted everyone to know that this is a “fresh start for the business”.
“The management buyout is completed now; all has been agreed with the support of MAB and we start afresh. My business relationships are already in place within the company, I worked closely with the staff during the pandemic, and built really tight bonds with them.
“We got through the pandemic together, and really only half my work was done and I wanted to come back personally. I really felt a passion for the brand and the business and I wanted to make it the successful business it should be,” he added.
Kirtikar said that the firm had “a lot of credibility and a lot of background successes from previous ownership” of Pescod but it’s “time for a fresh start, and a fresh approach into the market and how things are done”.
