We are proud to announce that we are expanding our successful employed division with the appointment of Ray Rodrigo as divisional sales director (DSD).

In the role, Ray will be tasked with growing his team of employed mortgage advisers, supporting Felicity J. Lord estate agency branches across London. He will use his more than 25 years of experience in the mortgage market and financial services to support them in their day-to-day duties and their ongoing development – ensuring clients receive a first class service in the process.  

Ray began his career with Barclays, serving in management roles throughout his seven-and-a-half year tenure. As area mortgage manager, Ray was responsible for nine consultants, a loans team and two branches. He was headhunted to join HBOS plc where he quickly climbed the ranks from area mortgage manager to city manager and later area manager – a role where he regularly received top ratings and awards throughout his 12-year spell.

In 2019, he was promoted to regional mortgage manager, leading a team of nine area mortgage managers and more than 60 consultants. Ray subsequently joined Connells as a senior area mortgage manager, before moving into the retail sector in senior customer experience and operations roles.

Ray will work closely with the financial services directors, estate agency teams and wider senior management to support the continued growth of the employed division at Just Mortgages. The brokerage currently has more than 150 employed advisers in estate agency branches across the UK.

Ray Rodrigo said: “I am very excited to join what is clearly an excellent company. Reaching out to colleagues I knew already, everyone was really complementary about Just Mortgages, which made the decision to join even easier. It’s been great to meet the wider team and my induction has been excellent. I’m really energised and I’m looking forward to getting started and to growing my team.

“I have plenty of experience to share from across mortgages and estate agency, and I know what it takes to build a successful team. It’s great to hit the ground running and to be having advanced talks with some really experienced and exciting candidates. With the team in place, we can really focus on doing things the right way and delivering that first class service to clients. At the same time, we can build a really positive culture that enables colleagues to develop and be successful.”

John Phillips, CEO of Just Mortgages and Spicerhaart, said: “Our employed division continues to be a high-performing part of our business, full of tremendous talent. Adding Ray to the team with his wealth of knowledge and experience is a great result and he will be a valuable resource to our advisers. Plus, his experience in mentoring and recruitment will be important too as Just Mortgages remains the destination for ambitious advisers.

“Whether it’s employed, self-employed or Just Wealth, we want to set our advisers on the path to success, enabling them to achieve their full potential. Alongside regular learning and development opportunities and a wealth of practical support, we surround all our advisers with an experienced management team that have stood in their shoes and can support them in their ongoing development. It’s certainly an exciting time to join Just Mortgages.”

The news of Ray’s appointment follows a new addition to the self-employed management team, with Tara Catnott joining as area director for the North. With nearly 500 self-employed advisers, Just Mortgages has around 650 advisers in total across the UK.

Those interested in joining the Just Mortgages team can get in touch by visiting: https://www.justmortgages.co.uk/about-us/careers/