Clayton Shipton (pictured), founder and managing director of CLS Money, told Specialist Lending Solutions there was a “shift in the mortgage world”, particularly with lead generation, citing Monzo and ClearScore’s entries into the market through the acquisitions of Habito and Acre.
He said it felt like the sector was transitioning from “a caterpillar into a butterfly”, as many smaller firms “quietly” expanded and gained market share.
“It’s a competitive industry and there are a lot of bigger firms that are now trying to replicate what Pivotal has done,” he noted.
He said other firms absorbed acquired businesses under their identity, and he liked that Pivotal Growth would let CLS Money continue trading as usual.
Shipton added: “I started speaking to Pivotal early last year, while we were still part of a network. We got to a certain size and had our own structure, such as a training development manager and a compliance manager – the kind of roles you pay a network for.
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“Early last year, I was looking at going directly authorised and different avenues to see where I could go next. I was thinking of what was best for CLS not next year, but the next 10 years.”
Among the firms that approached CLS Money, Shipton was attracted to the mixture of businesses within Pivotal Growth, as it presented opportunities for the specialist brokerage to help clients that the other firms could not.
The potential of technology
CLS Money was already conscious of how important technology was becoming to the mortgage sector and built its own CRM system around five years ago.
However, Shipton said it reached a point where technology was developing so fast and the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) felt overwhelming.
“I don’t think AI is going to replace us as advisers, but it will make things quicker and slicker, even with where we get our leads from and how much of an impact ChatGPT will have,” he added.
He said the acquisition created a “comfort blanket” for the firm, as Pivotal Growth had a good team and reputation, and its chief executive, Mayank Prakash, was well-versed in technology and would be at the forefront of AI, keeping CLS Money up to date.
Shipton said technology would be the main driver of the CLS Money’s growth, adding that people were getting cleverer with editing bank statements and other documents, so AI would be useful in screening this without the risk of human error.
“Like I say, our plan is not to replace certain roles with AI. Our plan is to grow with AI,” he added.
An entrepreneurial environment
Shipton said he also respected Pivotal Growth’s ambitious nature, saying the group was filled with entrepreneurs, not just business owners.
“I don’t really like calling myself an entrepreneur, but if you are an entrepreneur, you don’t want to be caged, you don’t want to be told what to do.
“Because Pivotal has recognised that, it means that I can still get on with my day. I can still run my business how I want to with the Pivotal backing and ecosystem, so we can refer in and out, grow as a business and keep up with the times,” he said.
Fellow specialist advice firm Simply Lending was bought by Pivotal Growth at a similar time to CLS Money.
Shipton said he had built a good relationship with Simply Lending, namely its chief executive, Adam Hinder, but over the years, the two kept their cards close because they were competing in the same market.
He said it would be good to be collaborative going forward and behave more like colleagues, sharing tips and strategies to become more successful.
He said both firms were well-positioned for growth.
Shipton said: “It was either a case of we stay on our own and lose market share because we just can’t compete and haven’t got the financial backing for that, or join a forward-thinking new firm, like Pivotal, and keep our market share, while also taking advantage of the chance to grow.”
Shipton said he also looked forward to being surrounded by other business owners within Pivotal Growth, who he could be motivated by and speak openly to.
Nurturing future professionals
CLS Money will stick to its practice of welcoming entrants to the profession and taking on apprentices.
Shipton said the firm had a “young workforce”, so decisions were based on what was best for their futures.
“Some of them have been here since they were 17 as an apprentice and are now in their 30s, having worked with us for over 10 years.
“I don’t know where I’m going to be in 10 years’ time – I’m 44 now – but they’re still quite early in their careers. The decision was a case of what the next 10 or 15 years look like for CLS,” he added.
Shipton said his anchor was being “very passionate”, “client-obsessed”, and “empowering people”, and CLS Money would continue to operate as it had done for 15 years.
The CLS Money office has direct links to trains that go into London’s Fenchurch Street and Liverpool Street stations, and Shipton said some employees were tempted by the “bright city lights and bigger salary”, so staff satisfaction was paramount.
“What are the three things people want? They want to be happy going to work. They want to be paid well, and they want more time off,” Shipton said.
This resulted in a recent two-year project, involving personality tests to figure out how to get staff working at their best, developing their skills and becoming team leaders.
He used to judge success firstly by how well the company was doing, then its staff, but has since realised “it’s the other way around”.
“If the staff are doing well and they feel successful, then that is when the business is doing well.
“We’ve got a really good team now with around 30 people who are all on the same page. We’re on a really good starting block and if we grow now, we could take on 20 people tomorrow and they will quickly learn because our existing team is already doing so well,” he added.
He said recruitment was costly, and although the firm found success in hiring “Dave from McDonald’s and Claire from Primark, because they’ve got really lovely personalities”, this required time and money. With the backing of Pivotal and its wider workforce, CLS Money has another 1,000 colleagues to lean on.
Shipton acknowledged that some of his team would not remain as mortgage brokers and may have ambitions to become team leaders and sales managers, saying the only way this was possible was to grow the team.
Shipton said he was happy to be led by Pivotal, and CLS Money had room to double to triple in size.
“If Mayank said to me, ‘I’ve got 40 people starting there tomorrow’, I wouldn’t be scared. I’d be excited and say, ‘fantastic’.
“I don’t want to stay still. I need to move forward, because I get bored. I definitely need to be striving for something, and this is the right move for us,” he added.
