Just Mortgages broker Lauren Cunningham has been appointed as Spicerhaart Corporate Sales first in-house mortgage adviser.

The Corporate Sales team offers a total management service for repossessions, part- exchanges, relocation schemes, quick sale schemes and a range of other property sales, and Lauren will be based in its Blackpool office.

The 27-year-old has just completed Just Mortgages’ Academy programme, and the role within the Corporate Sales team will be her first with Just Mortgages.

Cunningham (pictured) has more than eight years’ experience within the financial services sector, most recently working as a key accounts support manager at insurance firm Paymentshield.

She said: “I had always wanted to be a mortgage adviser but had never really gone for it. In my role at Paymentshield, I worked quite a bit with the Spicerhaart group and have always been hugely impressed by them as a business.  One day I was talking to Antony [Lark, Just Mortgages’ managing director] about how I’d always wanted to be a mortgage broker and he said ‘well why aren’t you then’ and that was the spur I needed.

“Just Mortgages has an absolutely brilliant reputation in the sector. They are a fantastic brand, with very driven salespeople, so I knew I wanted to work for them, but I didn’t have any of the qualifications needed. So when Anthony told me about the Academy I knew it was what I wanted to do.”

Cunningham then took a series of mortgages and protection courses through the Just Mortgages Training Academy. After six weeks had completed her CeMap One qualification and was immediately placed at Spicerhaart Corporate Sales.

Mark Pilling, managing director at Spicerhaart Corporate Sales, said: “At the moment we see a broad spectrum of buyers and the level of advice and guidance they receive varies greatly, the number of 1^sttime buyers taking the ‘free legals’ option does have an impact on our time to sell.  By having our own in-house broker, we are able to offer a comprehensive service including legals, which will make the whole process quicker and more efficient for everyone involved. Lauren will be able to build up good relationships with the clients, and because she is based here in the office, if there are any issues with the process or any complex cases, we are able to go straight to Lauren and resolve things in minutes.”