The Intermediary – November 2025 - Flipbook - Page 60
In Profile.
Jessica O’Connor speaks with Sara Palmer, sales and
distribution director at Gen H, about her recent
appointment and the lender’s future growth plans
F
or Sara Palmer, the appeal of her new
role at Gen H is rooted in a sense
that the mortgage industry hinges
on innovation. After more than three
decades in financial services, having
worked across “the first mortgage sourcing
software company,” MortgageLink, to her 14-year
stint in mainstream lending post-Credit Crunch,
she has seen first-hand just how quickly the
market adapts. She suggests it has rarely felt as
open to structural transformation as right now.
She says: “After being in that high street space
for 14 years, it’s now really exciting to be back in
a space where it’s all about innovation and doing
things differently.”
“The market is evolving,” she explains.
“Innovation is really important to stay relevant
and to help customers where circumstances
have become more complex over the years. There
aren’t many other lenders out there who can say
they are truly innovative.”
Raising awareness
Gen H has a clearly defined direction: to create
mortgage solutions that reflect the realities
facing would-be homeowners today. The next
step, Palmer explains, is ensuring that message is
consistently understood across the intermediary
landscape. The lender has “loads of passion and
loads of talented people” driving innovation, but
the priority now is to “build on our presence.”
This is not simply about becoming more
recognisable. Palmer frames it as an essential
step in ensuring that Gen H’s solutions land
where they are most needed.
The income booster proposition is a central
example. Rather than being positioned as a
headline-grabbing flagship, it reflects Gen
H’s attempt to address a defining structural
challenge in today’s market: affordability.
However, Palmer notes: “When I’m out and about,
loads of brokers say: ‘Yeah, I’ve used Gen H,
absolutely brilliant.’ But then equally, you meet
some who say: ‘oh, yeah, I’ve heard of Gen H, I’m
not sure really what you do.’”
Her priority centres around strengthening
partnerships. In a market where brokers handle
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The Intermediary | November 2025
dozens of lender processes, Palmer says that
repetition and clarity are essential.
She explains: “You need to explain if you’re
doing something a bit different. Once a broker
fully understands the proposition, they will get
what the hype’s all about, and hopefully, they’ll
keep coming back.”
This places a renewed emphasis on field-based
and relationship-led distribution. While digital
platforms and streamlined workflows matter,
Palmer notes that the broker experience still
hinges on people, particularly those who can
explain and build familiarity.
She adds: “To brokers, a relationship with your
lender’s BDM is still so important. You really need
that education piece – you need somebody to
hold your hand.”
Widespread homeownership
While Gen H’s “unlocking homeownership”
ethos is widely recognised, Palmer is keen to
emphasise that the lender’s distribution strategy
is not limited to the traditional first-time buyer
narrative. “Affordability is king,” she says, and
while younger buyers certainly form a significant
part of that story, the aim is to support anyone
facing barriers to ownership.
Gen H is increasingly seeing scenarios that fall
outside typical client profiles, and the proposition
is intentionally built to accommodate them.
Palmer notes: “We did a deal recently where
a 67-year-old who had his children join the
mortgage as income boosters. How lovely is that?
We’re helping a real broad spectrum of people.”
This approach also underpins the lender’s push
into interest-only and part-and-part interest-only
products, as the industry returns to long-term
affordability conversations with fresh context.
Palmer says: “Interest-only had a bit of a taboo
around it, but we’re going back to 2010 – the
world has moved on. Affordability is our biggest
issue now, so we now need to find solutions to
address that.”
In her view, the market can no longer rely
on older frameworks and assumptions about
how borrowers should structure their finances.
Gen H’s strategy is therefore need-first, rather
