Sam Fox and Fraser Kelly have launched Refresh Mortgage Network, which will have a fixed subscription model and appeal to a wide range of brokers.
Speaking to Mortgage Solutions, Sam Fox (pictured), commercial director of Refresh Mortgage Network, said that he had pivoted his business model from a self-employed business to an employed broker business, and had grown his business to 12 brokers. In the process of onboarding and training up brokers, he wanted a way for them to “fly the nest”, but not to lose “really good brokers”.
Following conversations with Fraser Kelly, CEO of Refresh Mortgage Network and co-founder and CEO of Giving Mortgages, they thought they could bring a platform model to the mortgage network space where brokers pay a fixed fee of £500 per month with all the compliance and training available.
Fox said that the mortgage network had its own internal compliance, company policies, procedures and branding. He said that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has fully approved the model, and it was aiming to officially launch in September.
The mortgage network has already started the onboarding process, with two appointed representatives (ARs) currently; one who has been approved and one in application. He added that there were around five firms going through the pipeline.
“If you want a simple, fair pricing structure that is fixed, that won’t change, and you want to keep 100% of commission, then come and join our subscription model,” he said.
He added that the long-term aim of the mortgage network was to get to AR firms, and it would appeal to larger, more established companies and smaller firms.
Fox said that by being a new mortgage network with a small internal team, it can be “agile and we can work quickly with brokers, and I think some firms will really benefit from that”.
“The aim is to find and to help inspire that next generation of market-leading firms or find people who are going to be the diamonds, who want to make a name for themselves. They’re the ones we are for and obviously the service proposition being so straightforward and simple, [it is] going to allow us to find these people and help nurture them and make it a more inclusive industry, a better industry, with more positive consumer outcomes,” he explained.
‘We are a straightforward and simple mortgage network solution for mortgage brokers’
Fox said that brokers will be able to do all kinds of business, as it had avenues for bridging and business, and it had referral partners and training available if they wanted to enter certain markets. Regulated and unregulated business, protection and private mortgage insurance are also available.
“We are a straightforward and simple mortgage network solution for mortgage brokers who want to be freed of corporate shackles and long, dusty contracts and just want a very simple space to write great business and have a community around that helps them progress and write more business and have access to an abundance of leads that will boost their profits,” he added.
Fox said that the mortgage network would be “open, honest and transparent” and brokers could leave if they want to.
“We’re not going to retain people for five years or two years… because we’re that confident in it. The network space has been heavily restrictive for so many years. It’s a case of, if you’ve got liabilities, let’s have that open and honest conversation that can work for both parties,” he said.
He continued: “What we’re here to really do is inspire brokers who want to change; they want to make more profit, but don’t really know where to go, or if you’re a broker that’s employed and wants to go self-employed, we can help that journey, or if you’re self-employed working for another brokerage have dreams of setting up on your own, we can help you.”
Fox said that the idea behind the Refresh Mortgage Network was to “provide a simple and clear pathway to a broker having their own brand, whether that be a one-man band of four people being in there, but if they want to scale, we can help them scale, because we’ve got recruitment and marketing in-house that can work on this”.
“Imagine us as a plug-and-play to the industry, the gateway between people being directly authorised and being in a mortgage network,” he said.
Anna is currently the deputy editor for Mortgage Solutions and editor for Specialist Lending Solutions. She has worked as a journalist since 2019, having secured her Gold Standard NCTJ diploma from News Associates in a fast-track six-month course.
She started her career as a report at specialist publication The Insurance Insider covering a wide range of areas before joining Mortgage Solutions and Specialist Lending Solutions in 2021.
In her role, she helps put together and structure the news agenda for the day and writes up press releases, reports, interviews, analyses and exclusives across both titles. She also commissions blogs for Specialist Lending Solutions and hosts online masterclasses and in-person events across the business.
She has been shortlisted for three journalism awards, which include BIBA Journalist and Media Awards Scoop of Year Award in 2020, Headline Money Mortgage Journalist of the Year Award (B2B) in 2022 and 2023.
Prior to being a journalist, Anna worked in ecommerce across Snow + Rock, Cycle Surgery and Runners Need websites, and before that worked at specialist financial PR firm Rostrum.
In her spare time, Anna enjoys reading, seeing live music, and cooking for friends and family. When she gets a chance, she also enjoys hiking, skiing and indoor rock climbing.
