‘Offering underserved homeowner customers a solution’: Our new Head of Sales chats residential mortgages

To explore our residential mortgage range and how you can support your customers with simple, reliable mortgages, visit our webpage for rates guides, criteria guides, instant quotes and registration. 

Paula Mercer joined LendInvest at the start of the year to oversee our sales operation and growth into the residential mortgage market. We launched our products tailored around the potentially complex homeowner into this market at the end of March. 

We chatted to Paula about joining LendInvest, why she joined the business, and what she sees as the future for our residential lending proposition.

How long have you been working in the mortgage industry, and in what roles?

I joined the industry in March 2008, working for Halifax Intermediaries as a Business Development Manager until December 2014. 

I then joined Atom Bank in January 2015 as a Regional Business Development Manager. My first few years were spent working in the Head Office, where I helped set up the mortgage lending department and launch Atom’s first digital mortgage.

In September 2019 I was promoted to Head of Residential & Commercial Intermediary Lending. I then joined LendInvest as Head of Sales in February 2023.

Why did you decide to join LendInvest?

It was like my dream job had been created for me when I heard they were pivoting into the residential space and wanting to further disrupt the mortgage market with their technology. 

Having a great culture and working for a company which has a clear vision and values is also really important to me. I could see this for myself with LendInvest and I wanted to be part of this journey.

You worked with our BDM, Chris Dolan, in a previous role, had you two spoken about LendInvest ahead of applying/joining? 

You would be crazy not to ask someone who you had worked with before, what it’s like to work for a company you are interested in, right? 

Chris validated everything for me and of course I wanted him to confirm that I was right for the company. It was important that I did the right thing for my career and that I was going to be a right fit for the company too. The good news is, it’s everything I had hoped for and more. 

The people are fantastic, made me feel so welcome, which has made me feel so comfortable in my new role. That said, they have had to get used to the strong North East accent. 

You’ve joined at an exciting time for the business, what stands out about our residential mortgage offer to you? 

It is no secret that I have a soft spot for residential mortgages as that is how my career started. When you combine that with a company who has its own proprietary technology,  with a vision for making mortgages simple, then to me this is a recipe for success. 

I am excited about disrupting the specialist space with our technology, helping customers who do not meet requirements of mainstream lenders and I want to be part of this.

It could be argued this is a strange time to launch into this space, given all of the outside economic factors, why do you think now is the right time?

We have identified our target market and we are very excited about our new homeowner proposition for customers with needs that may not always be met by the high street.

The current economic climate means there are a number of customers who remain underserved and our mortgage products and flexible underwriting approach offers customers a potential solution in what continues to be a challenging buying environment for many. 

How do you expect it to evolve over the coming weeks and months? 

We will continue to review and grow our distribution to support delivering the business plans. 

We want to make mortgages simple and we will continue to automate the journey, and as a result, applications can be dealt with more swiftly so that we can come to decisions faster. 

Our criteria and products will be reviewed regularly, we will make enhancements and continuously improve our offering over time. 

To explore our residential mortgage range and how you can support your customers with simple, reliable mortgages, visit our webpage for rates guides, criteria guides, instant quotes and registration. 

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LendInvest Loans Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN:737073). LendInvest Loans Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of LendInvest plc. 

Borrowing through LendInvest involves entering into a mortgage contract secured against property. Your property may be repossessed if you do not repay your mortgage in full.