CHL Mortgages came nineteenth out of 571 companies in The UK’s 100 Best Small Companies to work for category at this year’s Sunday Times Best Companies Awards.

The Sunday Times entry for the Fleet-based specialist lender said that, ‘CHL cares for its 112 employees at work and in their own family lives’, acknowledging that this has been achieved in a particularly difficult market – mortgage lending.

The Sunday Times highlighted the fact that CHL’s staff defined its values and culture last year with the vision of, ‘A Sustainable and Well Run Mortgage Business that I can be proud to work for’. All employees have a work and benefits package including private healthcare, childcare vouchers, life assurance, optional dental cover and an employee assistance programme which provides a free confidential ‘help line’ covering a range of problems for staff and their families.

Staff loyalty was also seen as a major positive for CHL with roughly a third of employees having been at the business for more than five years. 86% said they felt a strong sense of family in their teams with 89% saying they care about one another.

‘Outstanding’ performers are rewarded each quarter during a special awards evening, while every month a small group goes to lunch with managing director, Bob Young, to give their feedback and talk about how the firm is doing.

Young , said: “This is a fantastic achievement for the staff at CHL