Post date: 9th October 2017
Categories: BDMs

Meet your expert BDMs

At Zephyr Homeloans we are proud of our experienced people, and our knowledgeable Business Development Managers (BDMs) are an important part of the team.

We are lucky to have some of the best people in the industry – so here is some more information about our current BDM team.

Andy Rowe

Profile picture of Andy Rowe
Andy is based in Norwich, Norfolk and joins Zephyr Homeloans from Axis Bank. He joined the financial services industry back in 1999 as a mortgage broker for Century Mortgages, a large national broker. Drawing upon his knowledge and contacts, Andy then established his own brokerage, offering mortgage, loan and protection services. After selling the business in 2008, following seven years of impressive expansion, Andy rounded off his broking career with a specialist buy-to-let (BTL) broker, helping the firm to expand from four to over 70 staff.

In 2016, he joined the then-new BTL lender Axis Bank as a BDM, developing and broadening distribution through key partners.

How many advisers and brokers do you cover in your area?

We are launching with a limited distribution panel, my role will centre around key account management for these partner firms which include Directly Authorised brokers with approximately 216 business writers and Packagers who have approximately 32 internal business writers between them. In addition, I have access to over 20,000 individual business writers via the firms that they place business for. My job will be to train and support the business writers within the DA firms, alongside supporting the internal writers and business placement team within the packaging units

How big is the gap in the market for a specialist BTL lender like Zephyr Homeloans?

There are currently several specialist players within the market, so it is important to stand out. The key for any new entrant lender is their ability to provide products, criteria and service whilst supporting the needs of the wider broking community by staying aware of market change.

Transferring knowledge of market movement, regulatory change and complex criteria into the broking community helps build trust, ensuring that the Zephyr Homeloans brand will find its place in an ever increasing multi-faceted market space.

What are you most excited about working for Zephyr Homeloans?

There is a great team environment with genuinely enthusiastic, invested experts working within their respective areas. I’m excited to be working with these individuals to build on my knowledge whilst helping to promote and grow a really interesting dynamic brand.

What’s the best piece of career advice you’ve received?

If you’ve asked a question, don’t say ‘I know’ at any point whilst receiving the answer!

 

Mark Rookyard

Profile picture of Mark Rookyard

Mark is based near Southampton and joins Zephyr Homeloans from Together Money. He joined the financial services industry in 1994, spending almost ten years with First National (GE), before moving to GE Money Home Lending as a National Account Manager.

After moving to Ocean Finance and Mortgages as Broker Relationship Manager, Mark brought his knowledge and experience back to GE Money Home Lending before joining Together Money as a Key Account Manager in 2015.

How many advisers and brokers do you cover in your area?

As a new start specialist lender, our distribution panel will be with a small number of partners, both mortgage packagers and directly authorised brokers. However, both routes have a different business model and as such our proposition will be available to a high percentage of the broker marketplace. My role will be to work closely with our key partners to ensure the Zephyr Homeloans product range is marketed to the wider audience and is at the forefront of a broker’s mind when submitting a BTL application to a lender.

How big is the gap in the market for a specialist BTL lender like Zephyr Homeloans?

The BTL sector is undergoing rapid change, as previously landlord-only lenders and brokers increasingly move into residential mortgages. We will no doubt see some challenges for the market, including the Prudential Regulation Authority’s requirement for tougher stress tests on landlords, plus reductions to tax relief and the three percentage point stamp duty surcharge on second homes.

Whilst the market is becoming complex, I believe that the future of specialist BTL lenders is bright. Lenders like Zephyr Homeloans are in a better position than larger mainstream ones to deal with a market shift towards lending to landlords via limited companies and other changes. Most of these types of lender are run by people who have worked at big organisations in the past. They know how the market works and how to spot opportunities.

For specialist lenders that do both personal and limited company BTL, the market is clearly heading that way and for a new lender like Zephyr Homeloans it’s great to launch into a growing market.

What are you most excited about working for Zephyr Homeloans?

There are a number of things that excited me about joining Zephyr Homeloans. In any new start lender there are a number of challenges both internal and externally. Being part of a smaller team than in larger organisations is really exciting and means that I will play a part in shaping the business across all functions.

It’s really important that collaboration and innovation is demonstrated and I’ve seen this in abundance from joining the business; this will be the key to our future success. In addition, we are entering a market where brokers have strong established relationships with a range of lenders. The challenge for me is to grow the relationships and ensure that Zephyr Homeloans is seen to be a true business partner that adds value.

What’s the best piece of career advice you’ve received?

Having previously played non-league football, I would have to say it is advice from those days that has stayed with me during my career. Words that are embedded in me are “you can only do your best but make sure you do it” and “above all else, make sure you have no regrets at the end of the game/day”.