When Rachel Geddes picked up the phone after a job interview to ask her mum what a mortgage was, she didn’t realise she was about to step into a career that would see her become one of the most respected voices in UK mortgage distribution.
Fast forward 20 years, and Geddes is now Strategic Lender Relationship Director at Mortgage Advice Bureau (MAB), charged with helping more brokers say yes to more clients. But hers is not a story of straight lines and smooth transitions. It’s one of grit, curiosity, and constant evolution – a journey from the nightlife of Blackpool to one of the UK’s leading mortgage intermediary brands.
“I grew up in Blackpool and started out in the licensed trade – hotels, bars, restaurants,” she recalls. “I ended up running nightclubs across the northwest. I didn’t have a grand plan to work in financial services.”
Like many in the sector, Geddes ‘fell into’ the mortgage world. But once in, she began climbing fast – learning the ropes with Countrywide, before moving through corporate banking roles, including the Abbey National transition to Santander. All the while, she had one eye on London.
“I took a sabbatical, trained as a stockbroker with Edward Jones at Canary Wharf – I loved the buzz, the energy. But I didn’t want to sell stocks. I wanted to help people. I wanted to solve problems.”
“As brokers, we all dream of delivering an amazing customer journey – but we’re so time-poor, it’s hard to make that happen. So I thought, what if we design the service team first?”
Building Something Different
That desire to solve problems would become a theme throughout her career – most clearly expressed when, over a decade ago, she founded her own brokerage, Global Mortgage Management, from scratch.
She’d already earned her stripes managing complex cases across London’s higher end areas – Chelsea, Kensington, Notting Hill, Fulham, Islington – and her new business would reflect everything she’d learned, not just about mortgages, but about people.
“I wanted to build something better. As brokers, we all dream of delivering an amazing customer journey – but we’re so time-poor, it’s hard to make that happen. So I thought, what if we design the service team first?”
That meant more than just smooth case progression. It meant retention strategies, birthday cards, home move anniversaries, and structured client touchpoints long after the deal completed. “The goal was always: how do we keep the client for life?”
Global now has a team of nine, lending around £90 million per year. It also acts as a testbed for Rachel’s wider work: “We’re small, but we’re loud. Our clients often don’t fit the vanilla mould. They’re quirky, complex, self-employed, in the media, or have layered income. We like saying yes where others say no.”
From Broker to Strategic Voice
That deep real-world experience is what underpins her latest role at MAB – Strategic Lender Relationship Director – a title she jokes is “a cruel one for someone with dyslexia and a speech impediment.”
But the role is anything but ceremonial. Reporting into Distribution Director, Gareth Herbert, Geddes is responsible for the bridge between MAB’s brokers and its lender partners, ensuring both sides are equipped and aligned to support today’s rapidly evolving borrower landscape.
“There’s a massive piece of work around helping brokers break out of their comfort zones,” she says. “Too many say no because they don’t know the alternatives – not because the case can’t be done. That’s the gap I want to close.”
She’s passionate about using technology to remove friction and give brokers back time. “Every broker I know is working five, six, sometimes seven days a week. If a case is complex and time-consuming, it’s hard for them to justify the hours needed to research it properly.”
The solution? Smarter tools. Intelligent AI support. Streamlined sourcing. Seamless data capture from clients. “We’ve already seen what can be done. If we can cut down the admin and give brokers clarity faster, they can say yes more often.”
Still a Broker at Heart
Crucially, Geddes continues to run her own brokerage alongside her MAB role – a unique dual perspective that adds credibility and empathy to her strategic work.
“I’m still brokering. I still speak to clients. I still feel the same pain points – system clunkiness, communication gaps, lender ambiguity. And that gives me a real-time understanding of what our brokers need from our partners and from MAB.”
It also means she doesn’t ask anyone to do something she wouldn’t do herself. “I never wanted to be an industry voice who doesn’t get it. I live and breathe it.”
The Bigger Picture – and the Long Game
For Geddes, it’s about reshaping the industry for the better. She’s a vocal advocate for improving access to homeownership, especially for the next generation of first-time buyers. “15 years ago, the average first-time buyer was in their mid-20s. Now it’s mid-30s. At this rate, we’re heading to mid-40s.”
That, she argues, is a failure of awareness as much as affordability. “We’ve got to get better at using every touchpoint – digital, educational, even family – to help people understand that homeownership is more achievable than ever. If someone’s renting and couldn’t get on the ladder before, chances are they more than likely can now.”
She also sees a vital role for brokers in that education. “Clients trust brokers, but they need to find them at the right moment. That means building awareness, and raising awareness of innovation and schemes like Shared Ownership, family support outside of the gifted deposit, and long-term fixed rates. We can’t simply wait for them to come to us.”
“I’ve been lucky to have allies who spoke up for me when I wasn’t in the room – and who didn’t let me coast”
Industry Champion, Reluctant Role Model
As one of the few women to reach the upper echelons of the mortgage sector, Geddes is candid about the challenges she’s faced – and the responsibility she now carries.
“When I started, there were maybe three female brokers in a company of over 160. There were no female role models at director level. I couldn’t see what the career path looked like – because it wasn’t visible.”
While she now counts several industry-leading women among her mentors and peers, she’s quick to credit the men who’ve challenged and championed her too. “I’ve been lucky to have allies who spoke up for me when I wasn’t in the room – and who didn’t let me coast.”
Does she see herself as a role model now? “I suppose so. I want younger brokers – especially women – to see that you can be your full, authentic self and still succeed. The only limits that are put on you are the ones you put on yourself.”
Legacy Over Titles
For all her success – and with decades ahead of her – Geddes insists she’s only just getting started.
“I’m not chasing titles. I’m chasing impact. If I can look back in 12 months, three years, and five years’ time and know that I helped brokers help more clients, that I made the industry more inclusive, more innovative, more human – that’s success.”
Her biggest goal? Turning the funnel into a cylinder.
“This industry’s always had a drop-off. Leads come in, then fall away. But why? Let’s stop saying ‘no’ and start saying ‘not yet’. Let’s work with those clients, nurture them, and help them get mortgage ready. That’s how we grow – not just as businesses, but as a sector.”
