Kingston (pictured) is due to officially take up the role at the end of the month, taking over from Alison Pallett, who is retiring after four decades in financial services and two-and-a-half years at the mutual.
A new era at The Nottingham
Kingston said he looked forward to what his appointment meant for the mutual and the changes that would take place this year.
“We’re moving through a mortgage transformation, which is a key aim for us. That means lots of new tech partners to really transform the way that brokers interact with us,” he added.
It has soft launched a new broker portal and partnered with MQube to introduce the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to make the submission process easier for brokers.
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The system will only request the information needed for a particular case and scan it to make sure it is the correct document, leaving the mutual’s underwriters to take care of “value-added work”. A whole-of-market launch is expected in April.
Kingston added: “The other thing is moving away from the more vanilla lending. We started to do this anyway in 2024, but what you’ll see in 2025 is us moving into some more exciting, niche areas.
“When we announced our results this month, it showed our net margin increased from the previous year. I think that’s partly due to the fact that we are going at the risk curve.”
He said part of the mutual’s aim this year was to provide “proof points” for its rebrand and show that The Nottingham “invites difference in and wants to help the under-served segments of the market”.
“It’s all very well saying that, but we have to make sure we follow through. That’s what excites me; we are going to be moving into areas particularly focused at helping customers own their own home, and try to identify those customers who, for whatever reason, find it very difficult to get on the ladder.
“Our job is to try and provide solutions,” Kingston added.
The Nottingham wants to “build fame” in certain parts of the market and not only place business when it sources and prices well, but become an instinctive choice for select borrowers, he said.
Bold moves
Last year, The Nottingham made changes to improve mortgage access for foreign buyers, and this year, lenders such as HSBC, Nationwide and NatWest have followed suit.
Kingston said this reassured the mutual that it was on the right path, adding that because it still had its genuine unique selling points, it would “naturally get business our way”.
He added: “It’s the same across the market, though. I think everybody’s going [to] have to go slightly up the risk curve as mortgage business becomes that bit more complicated.
“I don’t think anyone can stand still.”
He said there was traditionally a distinction between standard and specialist mortgage business, but these were starting to merge.
“What you’re faced with is customers who are looking for a solution, whatever their need might be. That won’t necessarily be specialist or standard, it’s having that flexibility to be able to look at a case holistically and say, ‘this is a scenario that we really want to help with’, rather than the ‘computer says no’ type lending,” he added.
Kingston said the way The Nottingham used to operate meant business came from all angles, but the more specialist it got, the more targeted it needed to be with the broker firms it worked with.
The mutual will rely on its “rich data sources” to identify its key broker partners and utilise them as an “extension of the business” by partnering with them and seeking feedback.
He said this could mean “doing more business with fewer firms, rather than a scattergun approach that was the result of gaining business through price rather than service and criteria”.
Kingston said while The Nottingham had “dabbled” in different parts of the market in the past, going forward it would be more focused and prepared to stick its head above the parapet.
Inviting difference
Joining The Nottingham in 2023 as national sales manager before being promoted to national sales head, Kingston said he loved working at the mutual as it was a “really good fit” and, being the first building society he worked for, he liked its ethos.
He said Pallett was a “huge influence” and an “absolute trailblazer”, particularly in the typically male-dominated sales environment.
Kingston added: “When she brought me into The Nottingham, my remit was to professionalise the sales team but also grow the team. Both myself and Ali wanted to make sure we got the right people that fit within the culture and ethos of Nottingham Building Society who also have interesting backgrounds, not just in financial services.”
Since 2023, the mutual has expanded its business development management team from three members to nine. Of these, eight are women, including the three who make up its leadership.
He said ambitious women like CEO Sue Hayes and Pallett as a sales director drew these “brilliant people” to the mutual, along with its practice of progressing internal employees.
The Nottingham has recently added Beckie Morton to the team as national account manager, working with networks and clubs and starting at the end of March, while Aldermore’s Eloise Potts will join as its business development manager (BDM) for the North West in May.
Their appointments follow the promotions of Jennifer Curry and Emma Weisz as national sales managers, respectively in the field and telephony departments, and Ami Cammack, who was promoted to telephone BDM.
Some 73% of its internal promotions have been women and the mutual has a mentoring scheme to break down common barriers.
Kingston said the mortgage world was changing and people now had a fairer shot at the profession, but attending industry events showed it was still male-orientated.
“It is refreshing to get that, you know, for us to be slightly different. Part of the rebrand at The Nottingham was about being seen as a different type of society and inviting difference. So it fits with what we’re trying to do,” Kingston added.
