He brings over 20 years of leadership experience in the consumer lending sector
Second charge mortgage distributor Freedom Finance Mortgages Limited (FFML) has announced the appointment of Richard Sharp (pictured) as managing director.
Sharp, who has over 20 years of executive experience in the consumer lending sector, joins FFML from Tandem Bank, where he was managing director of unsecured loans and customer proposition director. He previously held operational and leadership roles at Everyday Loans, Dollar Financial, Cattles and GE Money.
In his new role, Sharp is expected to lead the growth of the specialist broker, which has seen significant increases in demand from both customers and intermediaries recently.
The second charge market continues to see significant growth, with the value of new business in the second charge mortgage sector increasing by 40% to surpass £1.5 billion in 2022, and the number of new agreements rising by nearly a third to exceed 33,000, according to a report from the Finance & Leasing Association.
FFML recently announced the launch of a refreshed proposition to support brokers through its Freedom 4 Intermediaries division.
Commenting on his appointment, Sharp said he was delighted to be joining FFML at an exciting time for the business and looked forward to helping grow its proposition and offering.
“The current macroeconomic events impacting everyone in the UK make it more important than ever that our focus is on ensuring that we give our customers financial solutions that meet their needs,” he said. “Freedom Finance is in a fantastic position to innovate and drive market change, and I look forward to leading this with the rest of the business, our people and our partners.”
Andrew Fisher, chief growth officer at Freedom Finance, added that he too was delighted that Sharp had joined to lead the distributor’s growth in the second charge mortgage sector.
“Richard’s experience and track record for delivering growth through innovation aligns perfectly to the sector’s own ambitions for growth,” Fisher stated. “This appointment reflects our commitment to the mortgages sector, and I’m looking forward to seeing the results driven by Richard’s innovations in this space.”
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