Crystal Specialist Finance, Just Mortgages, and Glenhawk announce strategic hires
Three firms in the UK mortgage market have bolstered their teams to capitalise on growth opportunities and address rising demand.
Crystal Specialist Finance has appointed Suzanne Aspden (pictured left) as its new director of marketing to help drive the specialist distributor’s ambitious expansion plans.
A seasoned marketer with 30 years of experience in financial services, Aspden will help drive Crystal’s ambitious expansion plans. Her prior roles include senior positions at HSBC, Bank of Scotland, The Co-operative Bank, and fintech brokerage Fluent Money, where she served as group marketing director during its sale in 2022.
Meanwhile, national brokerage Just Mortgages has strengthened its employed division with the appointment of Ray Rodrigo (pictured centre) as divisional sales director.
Rodrigo brings more than 25 years of mortgage and financial services experience, having held senior roles at Barclays, HBOS, and Connells. In his new position, he will oversee a team of employed advisers, supporting estate agency branches in London while driving recruitment and fostering professional development.
Just Mortgages currently operates with over 650 advisers nationwide, including nearly 500 in its self-employed arm.
In the short-term lending sector, specialist lender Glenhawk has announced two key appointments to its internal business development manager (BDM) team.
Alex Robertson and Harleigh French (pictured right) will lead efforts to qualify lending enquiries and ensure seamless loan completions in collaboration with underwriters.
Robertson, formerly with Avamore Capital, brings extensive short-term lending experience, while French leverages six years at Glenhawk, where she built a strong broker and client network.
The appointments come as Glenhawk targets £550 million in lending for 2025, supported by the UK bridging market’s 9% quarterly growth, as reported in the recent Bridging Trends data.
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