Mortgage and protection brokerage Access Financial Services (Access FS) has hired Nicholas Jones as its mortgage sales and marketing director.
In this newly created role, Jones (pictured) will be responsible for expanding the mortgage side of Access FS while engaging with existing advisers and developing the firm’s brand.
Additionally, he will help advisers to increase their sales and give them marketing support. He will also establish and grow sales and marketing teams on the mortgage side of the business.
Jones has 24 years of experience in specialist finance including 14 years at Together, where he was first national sales manager, then moved on to the role of head of specialist distribution.
Jones also worked at Roma Finance as a commercial director for around a year, a sales director for West One Loans for nearly two years and, most recently, a director at Freedom Finance for just under a year.
Karl Wilkinson, CEO of Access FS, said: “Having Nick on the team is a real coup for the business as we look to drive growth in our mortgages business. The industry has had a tough time of it over the last couple of years, and we successfully adapted to that by developing the protection side of our business. We’ve seen strong and steady growth in the business since we started in 2017, which seems to have been unusual in the industry since 2022.
“Now that the economy is perking up and the housing market is moving again, it’s time to balance our focus on developing the mortgage side of the business, so we can support our clients who are ready to buy and sell again.”
Earlier this month, Access FS announced the business had been seeing growth with a rise in mortgage and protection sales, as well as a 46% rise in its turnover.
This appointment also comes as a report from Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association (IMLA) revealed a boost in confidence among brokers, with 94% of advisers describing themselves as ‘very confident’ or ‘fairly confident’ in the intermediary sector, compared to 88% previously.
Shekina is the deputy editor at Mortgage Solutions and commercial editor at Mortgage Solutions and Specialist Lending Solutions. She has nearly eight years of experience in the B2B publishing market, having previously covered the hospitality, retail, pet, accounting and jewellery sectors.
Shekina has worked for Mortgage Solutions and Specialist Lending Solutions for almost five years. Here, she covers the market’s breaking news stories, engages with professionals in the sector, and oversees any commercially agreed content in partnership with mortgage-related companies.
This includes presenting webinars and hosting roundtable discussions on developing themes in the mortgage sector.
She is an NCTJ-trained journalist and was nominated for the Headline Money Awards Mortgage Journalist of the Year in 2021.
In her spare time, Shekina likes to read, travel, listen to music and socialise with friends.
She currently reports on current events in the mortgage market and liaises with financial clients to produce sponsored content.
Follow her on Twitter at @ShekinaMS
