Equity Release Supermarket said the hires would support its business growth and increasing demand. 

Louise Thompkins has been recruited as advice team manager and joins from Legal and General, where she was a regional advice manager for over five years.

She has 27 years of experience in the sector and started as a financial adviser at Aviva, where she worked for 13-and-a-half years before moving to Just Retirement, where she was an equity specialist adviser for nearly eight years. 

Thompkins said it was a “privilege” to join Equity Release Group. 

She added: “They have a very strong work ethic and incredible reputation, as well as being at the forefront of several industry changes. So, I’m delighted to be part of the team.

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“I join Equity Release Supermarket as advice team manager from Legal and General, where I was a founding member of the leadership team, tasked with the launch of their in-house advice service and subsequently their whole-of-market proposition. My passion is about improving advice standards within the sector and driving the right customer outcome through the provision of good-quality advice and excellent customer experience.

“I am really looking forward to being part of the team at Equity Release Supermarket. They have the perfect platform in place to enable me to drive a continued and heightened customer experience.” 

Thompkins will be based at the firm’s headquarters in Warrington. 

The firm has also hired brothers Brian and Paul Massie as advisers. They both have experience with whole-of-market advice and, before joining Equity Release Supermarket, worked at Fluent Money as part of the equity release team. 

They will be telephone advisers and provide whole-market advice to clients nationwide. 

 

Equity Release Group ready for growth 

These hires come after Equity Release Group announced its partnership with Responsible Lending, the exclusive provider of the Royal London equity release product range. The group also recently teamed up with the price comparison service Moneysupermarket. 

Mark Gregory, founder and CEO of Equity Release Group, said: “With a broader product mix now available, alongside a renewed confidence within the market following a year of turbulence, we’re witnessing above industry average growth within the group.

“In part, this is due to certain environmental factors, but also due to our strategic partnerships and digital capabilities. By enabling customers to monitor rates and loan to values [LTVs] through the use of SmartER – the UK’s only equity release comparison tool – consumers now have access to a comparative suite with greater choice, independence and transparency. 

“To support this continued drive, we are thrilled to welcome Louise, Brian and Paul to our expansive and well-established team. Their respective expertise will help us to further strengthen our position and reach throughout the UK. It is always our aim to provide the best possible quality service to our customers, which is why we invest so heavily in our people, expertise and technology.” 

Gregory added: “We have an exceptionally talented and proactive team who deliver unparalleled support and services to our clients, which have enabled the business to continue to excel.

“This is the first of many hires we expect to make throughout the year following year-on-year growth. Due to SmartER consistently growing in popularity, new product launches, platform developments, new partnerships and affiliations, it is a particularly exciting time for people to join the firm and be part of this sector[‘s] digital transformation.”