MSAwrd_p03_15.03.10_ed 10/3/10 11:46 Page 3
Introduction
The ninth Mortgage Strategy Awards, sponsored by Countrywide,
celebrated the achievements of the great and the good of the mortgage
industry in the past year. And what a year it was – let’s face it, 2009
was one many in the market would like to forget. Brokers and lenders
have had to get to grips with a range of issues and adapt their business
models accordingly. For those firms still left standing it’s a case of
triumph over adversity.
But things are getting better. There are more broker exclusives, less
dual pricing, some signs of the securitisation market reopening and a
few new entrants, while anyone with estate agency-based distribution
will tell you they are significantly up year-on-year. It was Tony Blair’s
trite rallying cry in 1997 but it still holds true for whichever party
takes power after the general election – things can only get better.
But on with the awards. This year we received nearly 6,500
nominations online. This is a fantastic response and thanks to everyone
who took the time to vote. As well as online nominations we asked all
the main lenders to nominate their top three brokers in each category
and the combined results provided our shortlists. Everyone shortlisted
was then asked to complete questionnaires detailing why they should
win. These were passed on to our expert panel of judges who had the
last word, anonymously grading firms to give us our final winners.
Our thanks go to all the judges who gave up their time and to the
Council of Mortgage Lenders which independently verified and collated
lenders’ nominations for us. This year’s awards event on February 24
was once again held in London’s plush Grosvenor House hotel, with
more than 600 professionals attending. Along with comedian Alun
Cochrane, four members of the industry provided the evening’s
entertainment in our very own M Factor competition. Congratulations
to Verona Poynor, head of business recruitment at Mortgage Talk, who
was overall winner of the M Factor. But the evening wasn’t yet over. At
first it looked like the audience was being treated to a last-minute
entrant to the M Factor when Phil Rickards, head of sales at
BM Solutions, got up on stage to sing the ’80s classic Karma
Chameleon. But after 30 seconds Rickards exited stage left to be
replaced by the real Boy George who entertained the audience with a
number of his hits. All in all it was a classic night.
So to find out who made the grade, read on…
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