The Intermediary – March 2026 - Flipbook - Page 6
From the editor. . .
t’s a rare occasion that I sit down to write
my monthly ramblings and find myself
face-to-face with a real (figurative)
elephant in the room. As a trade
journalist, it’s not oen that readers
across the broad spread of disciplines
covered by our own audience will universally
know what I’m geing at when I obliquely
mention a big shake-up – let alone knowing that
if a lost and confused consumer reader wandered
in here with no knowledge of the mortgage or
specialist lending market at all, they might make
a prey successful guess, too.
It’s even more odd at a time when this elephant
is joined by so many others – war, global
conspiracy, climate crisis, prominent arrests, I
could go on and on, and anyone who knows me
personally understand that I will, given half
the chance.
Nevertheless, for a brief moment all that
drama has faded to the background, and
specialist finance finds itself making even the
mainstream press headlines.
When the Financial Times is leading with their
reporters “eating a fry-up for breakfast in the
name of investigative journalism,” you don’t
expect it to have anything to do with our notso-well-publicised side of the market. And yet,
here we are.
Aer so many years spent by so many industry
stalwarts working to get specialist property
finance beer recognised in the mainstream – as
a vital and well-structured solution to so many
of the increasingly complex problems facing the
I
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UK property market – it’s a pity that this is why
the average person on the street suddenly knows
what a specialist lender is, and even has a basic
understanding of how one is funded and run. Or
should be.
There will be many rolling their eyes as they
look back over the hard work done – and still
ongoing – to shake the ‘cowboy’ label worn by
bridging finance, for example.
We can probably look forward to a few steps
back in terms of public perception, and a bit
more need for persuasion and evidence when
presenting specialist options to those not already
comfortable with this side of the market.
I suppose all we can hope for is yet another
once-in-a-lifetime event to take place either on
the global stage or closer to home, to take over
the headlines once more, and leave this market
to quietly pick up the pieces and do the work to
repair trust.
In the meantime, and while we all await the
next act of the grand global drama, we will have
to turn away from the elephant occasionally to
maintain business as usual.
To that end, this month’s issue is chock-ablock with everything you need to know about
the market, outside of just what’s grabbing the
mainstream headlines.
From 100% LTV mortgages to commercial
lending strategy, the evolution of technology to
rental sector legislation, and more, we will keep
on trumpeting. ●
Jessica Bird
@IntermediaryUK
Contributors
The Team
www.facebook.com/IntermediaryUK
OPINION The latest from
Barclays, Paragon, Rely, West
One, Investec, and more
INTERVIEW Santander
talks broker relationships
and high LTV lending
PROFILE Redwood Bank on
its evolving proposition and
the tricky road ahead
The
Intermediary.
www.theintermediary.co.uk | Issue 38 | March 2026 | £6
Jessica Bird . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Managing Editor
Jessica O’Connor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Deputy Editor
Marvin Onumonu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Reporter
Brian West . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sales Director
brian.west@astormedia.co.uk
Millie Sweetman . . Commercial Development Executive
Laura Strelconoka . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Campaign Manager
Ryan Fowler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Publisher
Felix Blakeston . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Associate Publisher
Helen Thorne
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Accounts
fi nance@astormedia.co.uk
Orson McAleer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Designer
Bryan Hay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Associate Editor
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The Intermediary | March 2026
Aaron Shinwell | Adam Tyler | Ammer
Mohammed | Andrew Ferguson | Andy Francos
Andy Pearson | Angela Hesketh | Averil Leimon
Brendan Geraghty | Chris Martin
Darrell Walker | Dave Harris | David Binney
Eddie Lau | Elijah Da Silva | Gary Dean
Graham Sellar | Helen Pierson | Helen Scorer
Hiten Ganatra | Jamie Williams | Jason Berry
Jerry Mulle | Jon Cartlidge | Jonathan Hole
Jonny Jones | Jono Oates | Karl Griffin | Kharla
Mullen | Laura Thomas | Mark Blackwell | Mark
Gregory | Mark Thompson | Martin Sims | Nasar
Hussain | Natalie Thomas | Neil Leitch | Nina
Kainth | Paul Huxter | Peter Izard | Phil Hughes
Rob McCoy | Roland McCormack | Simon
Cockerill | Sophie Olejnik | Stephanie Dunkley
Steve Carruthers | Steve Goodall | Steve
Palfreeman | Stuart Davidson | Stuart Ottery
Suzy Esson | Uday Bola | Victoria Pollington
Wes Regis | Will Calito
LOWERING THE LADDER
Do 100% mortgages really help aspiring homeowners?
Copyright © 2026 The Intermediary
Cover illustration by Ed Wishewsky
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