This month we sat down with Esther Morley (pictured), managing director of residential lending at LendInvest. She has been in the role for just under two years, and before that was chair of the risk committee and non-executive director at Beverley Building Society.
Morley was managing director for mortgages at Secure Trust Bank for over three years after a year as transformation leader at Kensington Mortgages.
She has also held senior roles at Investec, HSBC and HFC Bank.
Morley is chair of the board of trustees for The Autism Group, a Maidenhead-based charity that aims to support the lives of young people on the spectrum along with their parents and carers.
Q: Earlier this year LendInvest launched a residential mortgage proposition. What has the broker feedback/demand been like? Is there a target in mind for how much business you want to complete?
A: Broker feedback and sentiment has been really positive and we are gaining good traction as a new start up in this segment of the market. Our credentials from the buy-to-let space has read across well with brokers, particularly appreciating our technology approach and the service our underwriters provide.
Q: The residential mortgage launch has been backed by £300m from Lloyds, how is that arrangement going?
A: Bringing Lloyds on as a new funding partner has been a great achievement for us. The partnership is working well, and is a real example of our strong funding relationships and diversifies our capital base even further which is key.
Q: Are there other areas of the mortgage market that you are looking to expand/grow more in? Where do you see the biggest opportunities and why?
A: We are currently experiencing a difficult and fast moving market, for lenders, brokers and customers. Our focus at present is to ensure that our products and proposition supports customers who need help to finance their homes whilst ensuring we are working with our brokers to manage the journey.
As markets settle, we have a number of market segments where we believe we can add value and provide a differentiated offering, supported by our technology. However, these will be delivered as the market and opportunities arise.
Q: What are the biggest challenges this year and how are you going to overcome them?
A: On a macro level, this is the same for most lenders, interest rates. We have a strong capital markets team who are constantly striving to deliver solutions that help us to manage the external pressure.
On a more specific business level, our challenge, like all new entrants, is to constantly iterate and improve, making sure that what we are delivering meets the needs and requirements of brokers and customers. This includes getting our message out there and heard.
Q: What is the headcount at LendInvest and are there plans to grow specific teams/recruit more?
A: We have a fantastic team supporting both our tech platform development and our lending businesses. We are always on the lookout for talented individuals to join the team and will continue to grow and invest as the business develops.
Q: What are LendInvest’s plans with the broker market as you have teamed up with several packagers to distribute its residential product?
A: Our main focus for the broker market is to grow awareness of our product set. We have some fantastic supporters across the community, packagers, networks, DAs and so on. who we work with to build on our proposition and improve our technology, always looking at ways to get better and offer better solutions to the market.
Q: LendInvest opened a new office in Scotland, so how is that going and are there other geographies you would look to go into?
A: We have really grown our presence in Glasgow, and have a wide number of functions across the business with team members working out of the office. There is a great wealth of financial service knowledge across Scotland and we see further opportunities and investment to be made in building up the Glasgow presence.
Q: What do you want brokers to know about LendInvest?
A: We have a really strong proposition targeted at the complex market and those customers that don’t quite fit the high street. We have a great platform that has been designed around the broker experience and underwriters who are experienced and able to look at the whole picture.
We have an appetite to lend and a desire to help brokers and customers to find the right solution. Technology is certainly our differentiator, and we’re excited about the opportunity to transform the mortgage experience for our customers.
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