Over the past year, the specialist lender has joined the panels of numerous clubs and networks, including Paradigm, TMA, and PMS. With the company looking to branch out into more of these organisations, Liza has been recruited to help grow this further.

“That's where [I’m going to be] making a difference, coming in and taking on new clubs and networks, but also then growing the ones we already have on board, making sure they understand what our proposition is, and ensuring we're engaging with them and [identifying] how we can add value.

“There is an appetite to diversify, which a lot of brokers have the desire to do since Covid,” said Liza, “a lot of brokers look at what other areas they can move into, such as really complex BTL, and bridging.

“So, there's lots of areas where we can assist and help brokers [through] clubs and networks that want to diversify into certain fields.”

Liza understands that DAs can decide, in most instances, which mortgage club they send their business through, whereas in the case of appointed representatives the decision comes from the network and those on its approval panel, which to Liza, emphasises the importance of illustrating to those networks that MFS can add value.

“The last thing a network wants to do is bring on a whole host of new lenders to panel, all of whom offer the same criteria and similar rates.

"Therefore, as a new lender applying to be on a network panel you need to bring something new to party.

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“Because if not, all you're going to do is take business from lender A for lender B, and from a network's perspective, that can actually reduce the impact they could have on that lender and reduce their bartering power.”

Liza believes that lenders offering networks and their members a unique proposition can remedy this.

A strong membership with a diverse appetite and a good reputation are key aspects Liza looks for when targeting a new network — ultimately, finding common goals.

“If they are a network that does residential new build and that's all they do, then unless they're looking to diversify, we're not really going to add much value to them as a non-regulated lender.

“Whereas, if a network was looking to diversify into the BTL field, then we could work with them to help educate and upskill their members in order to make that transition.”

Liza also has another ambition during her first 12 months at the lender: “For me, educating the market on MFS and how we can support them is a big thing for this year.”

One of the ways which Liza plans to do this is through the company’s launch of its Property Training Certification.

According to Liza, the market is beginning to show encouraging signs following the volatility of last year, with interest rates now beginning to stabilise.

With an estimated 1.6 million borrowers coming off fixed-rate mortgages this year according to UK Finance, Liza feels many will be looking for solutions which differ from what can be provided by a high-street lender — she sees more reasons to be positive about the specialist finance sector as far as brokers are concerned.

“We're seeing lots of brokers want to understand more about the semi-commercial and bridging market as well. So I think things are looking positive for 2024 so far.”