Magellan Homeloans says it is strengthening the support it provides to intermediaries with the appointment of a new regional sales manager and the introduction of a mortgage help desk.

The new regional sales manager, Phil Hearn (pictured, left), is responsible for the southern region and joins Magellan from his own financial consultancy. He previously worked in the intermediary mortgage sector for Halifax and GE Money.

The help desk is being managed by Sarah Bennett (pictured, right) and provides brokers with a telephone based information and support service. She has been a business development manager at both Magellan and Northern Rock and an intermediary sales manager at BUPA.

Mark Snape, managing director of lending at Magellan Homeloans, said: “Having worked previously with Phil Hearn, I know he will be able to make an immediate impact and will be a great asset in the South of England. He is an extremely driven, focused and knowledgeable individual who has a proven track record of producing outstanding results. Phil will add a considerable amount of value to our business.

“Sarah’s knowledge of both Magellan and the broker market makes her the ideal candidate to manage our new Mortgage Help Desk, which I have no doubt will prove to be an invaluable resource for intermediaries. The help desk enables cases to quickly progress from DIP to application and then through to completion. This is an important development and, assuming it delivers the expected benefits, further resource will be added in the future.

“I would like to wish both Sarah and Phil every success for the future.”