The Intermediary –- May 2026 - Flipbook - Page 40
Q&A
Just Mortgages
The Intermediary speaks with John Phillips,
CEO of Just Mortgages and Spicerhaart, about
navigating a turbulent first half of 2026, protection,
and the future of mortgage advice
How has 2026 been so far?
All things considered, it’s been a positive first
half of the year across all parts of the business.
We started 2026 with some pent-up demand and
with the mortgage market in pretty good health
– particularly with high levels of product choice,
plenty of innovation and increasing competition
among lenders. Of course, the Iran conflict threw
a major spanner in the works and has shifted the
future path of inflation and interest rates. We’ve
seen brokers demonstrating the value they
offer, working overtime to navigate reprices
and product pulls across the market to
make sure their clients secure rates and
the best possible deals.
What this means for the second half of
the year is still anyone’s guess. What has
been encouraging, though, is that business
levels have remained pretty consistent –
whether it’s buyer registrations,
valuation requests or
booked appointments.
Put simply, there may
be some crisis fatigue
in the market and a
real willingness to
just get on with the
task at hand.
Remortgages
continue to make
up a significant
share, but we
are still seeing
really positive
levels of purchase
activity too. There
are fewer speculative
buyers jumping at
opportunities, but
those serious buyers are
making it happen.
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The Intermediary | May 2026
Just Mortgages started the year
with a renewed focus on adverse
credit. What has driven this?
We have seen a considerable increase in enquiries
and applicants with adverse credit, mirroring
trends in the wider market. Pepper Money puts
it at 17% of the adult population experiencing
adverse credit in the past three years. The
challenge we face is that people with a history of
financial difficulty or adverse credit often believe
that their card is marked for good – when in
reality, it doesn’t need to define your future or
your ability to buy or move.
We’ve seen great strides in recent years by
lenders to open up their criteria to support
borrowers who are perhaps just off the high street,
right through to those requiring more specialist
support. It’s up to us as trusted advisers to give
borrowers in these circumstances the confidence
to explore their options. It’s part of the
aim of our new adverse credit
solutions team, which offers
specialist support and tailored
advice, and is backed by
enhanced training to ensure
clients are seen, heard and
supported properly. It’s
already delivering fantastic
results for borrowers.
How can brokers
best support
JOHN
PHILLIPS
clients beyond that
initial mortgage?
It can be very easy to view
client services as making
sure everyone comes back to
remortgage. In truth, we might
