Nikki Warren-Dean, head of intermediaries at Leek Building Society, said the lender would be doubling down on its specialisms and forming stronger relationships with broker partners.
Speaking to Mortgage Solutions, Warren-Dean (pictured) laid out how the mutual would build on its place in the market.
Tell us about your career and how it has shaped your current role
I’ve spent my whole career in mortgages. I left school at the very young age of 18 and started at Cheltenham and Gloucester (C&G). That was back in the late 1980s, before it transitioned into Lloyds Banking Group. That early experience gave me a strong grounding in the fundamentals of lending and, most importantly, a deep understanding of the broker market, which really captured my interest. At C&G, the focus was entirely on service, so we didn’t even pay a procuration fee. At times, it was challenging, but we built genuine relationships and consistently delivered for brokers, which was the only way to win business.
That environment instilled a service-first mindset that has stayed with me ever since – putting yourself in the customer or the broker’s shoes. Then I spent 10 years with a specialist lender, broadening my experience in complex cases, before returning to the mutual sector, probably about 10 years ago, and it just felt like coming home. It was a real positive experience, and reinforced the values that I believe in; putting intermediaries first and focusing on long-term partnerships over short-term gains.
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When you joined in 2022, what vision did you have for Leek Building Society and its relationship with intermediaries?
Leek Building Society was already in a strong position, but part of my vision was to evolve from being a generalist to being a true specialist. Today, we have a clear purpose to be the first-choice lender for shared ownership, specialist, buy to let (BTL), which includes limited company BTL, holiday lets, high-loan-to-value (LTV), and new-build lending. This is where brokers need more than just a rate. They need a lender that understands there is a story behind each case. My goal is to combine this niche expertise with a hands-on approach, providing direct access to underwriters and a dedicated sales team to get these complex cases over the line. In the last three years, we’ve become more accomplished at doing that. When I first joined, we used to have a really long list of what we felt we were good at; now, that list is more defined, and we’re positive about the areas of lending we want to specialise in.
You mention a list. What did you see that was working well that you wanted to maintain and what needed improving?
We’ve refined our focus, concentrating on our core strengths that underpin our resilience as a mutual building society. A major area of improvement was our infrastructure. Since I’ve joined Leek Building Society, we’ve partnered with Finova to implement the MSO broker platform. This wasn’t just about a new interface, it was about a full integration to enhance the overall broker experience and underwriters, making us faster and easier to deal with. MSO has been live with us for about a year and a half. We’re not fully there with the transformation, but the brokers love the MSO system, so it’s been a real positive engagement and a step forward.
What has been achieved and how much further is there to go?
It’s an ongoing journey. We’re now in what our CEO describes as ‘execution mode’. We’re continuously engaging with broker partners to review our policy, criteria and service standards to ensure we meet market needs; and we want to lead them, not just meet them. We want to be front of mind for brokers.
When you joined, the sector was still coming out the other side of the pandemic, adjusting to different forms of communication. AI is changing that again. How has Leek Building Society figured out what works and what doesn’t?
The hybrid model proved that we can be highly effective regardless of the location, but we still value the need to be in an office, because that brings the exchanging of ideas and challenges our thinking. Whilst we acknowledge that technology enables scalability, it does have its own limitations. When a case is complex, automated solutions often fall short, and in those moments, the ability to speak directly to an experienced human is invaluable. That is where we excel, and that’s what makes the difference between a building society and a high street bank.
How is the increased use of tech supporting your hands-on approach?
Our systems and processes help us handle the ‘straight-through’ cases efficiently, which frees up our expert people to focus their time on the cases where a human touch actually adds value.
Most of my help desk team have worked for us between four and 30 years. We’ve got a real, good level of knowledge in that team, alongside BDMs and key account managers. They’ve all worked for us for over 12 years, and one has worked for us for 20 years. The level of expertise absolutely is a given, and that’s where we add value.
The market is currently going through a period of uncertainty, and you say communication with brokers matters, as does the need for transparency. How does Leek Building Society maintain that, especially when it is busy with other matters?
It’s always a juggling act, but we benefit from having a highly effective sales team. This plays a vital role in providing insight into broker sentiment and market feedback. In addition, I dedicate time each week to engaging directly with individual brokers, firms, networks and mortgage clubs to try and gain a clearer understanding of where we’re performing well and what we can do to improve, whether through enhancing service, adapting our offering or strengthening our overall position. It also supports informed decision-making when distinguishing between one-off exceptions, where discretion may be appropriate, and broader trends that may warrant a review of adjustment of policy. Whilst this presents as a continual challenge, it is one that we approach with clarity and confidence, ensuring we remain positive, competent and aligned with the needs of our broker partners.
In these times, what elements of your existing practices enable Leek Building Society to rise to any challenges?
It’s the balance of adaptability and consistency, evolving where necessary, while remaining anchored to our core values. That enables the mutual building society to navigate uncertainty effectively and continue to support both brokers and members. Being able to turn on the sixpence is always a positive. We are small but perfectly formed.
Leek Building Society prides itself on its manual approach to underwriting and relationship with brokers. How does this reinforce how you interact with brokers beyond case management?
Leek Building Society places people at the heart of everything we do. While we have invested in systems to automate routine and operationally intensive tasks, which is designed to enhance efficiency rather than replace human interaction. We recognise there are times when brokers value the opportunity to discuss a case in detail, and in those moments, we’re always available to listen and can provide support.
Why is it important not to pivot away from this approach?
Because this is what we’re good at. This makes us different to the high street. We can’t always compete with a high street pay rate, where there’s a black box making the final decision.
With a building society, we listen, and if we believe in the case, we will try and look at it. If we can’t do it, then it will be a quick no. It might not be the answer a broker wants, but it will be a quick response every time.
In what way does this human-led approach provide a foundation for the business the mutual wants to focus on?
We apply what we call the ‘Einstein Approach’ to complex lending – stripping away unnecessary bureaucracy to find the logical solution. For a broker, this means a ‘quick no’ is better than a ‘slow maybe,’ but a ‘human yes’ is where we truly shine.
Why have you chosen your selected niches of the market?
We’ve gone into segments that are a little different. Our focus on shared ownership isn’t just a niche market choice; it is a direct expression of our purpose to tackle the housing crisis and support social mobility in England and Wales.
We also have compelling propositions for the new build and limited company BTL. We’re not competing with 90 other high street lenders. We’ve got to carve out a niche, we believe we can make some inroads in and see the positive for the customer. Mutual building societies always do something a little differently, because we can’t compete with high street lenders on price, so we must always have something up our sleeve.
How does that tie into the overall ethos of Leek Building Society?
It’s the real circle of life. We’re here to help customers save, buy their first house and hopefully move up the ladder chain as their lives and families grow. We’re not just regional, we lend to customers in England and Wales.
We want to help customers through their life experiences and be on that journey with them, so they can think ‘Leek Building Society will be able to help me with this’, whether that’s through our direct offering or intermediaries. That’s all a positive, because we just want what is the best for the customer. What is best is seeing their eyes light up when you walk them through the door of their first-ever home.
Are there areas Leek Building Society is looking to expand to?
We’ve been doing shared ownership for over 12 months now, and limited company BTL for slightly longer. These are two areas we want to do more of. With regards to limited company BTL, we’ve removed minimum income requirements, and with new build, we’ve increased the number of stories on flats we will lend to.
And as our CEO also noted in a recent interview that he did with yourself, we’re also working on a reimagined intermediary proposition. This isn’t just a tweak; it’s a commitment to being ‘front of mind’ by removing friction points and rewarding broker loyalty through consistent delivery.”
What trends have you seen in the areas you specialise in?
We’ll continue to adapt our five Ps; price, policy, people, process and proposition. We want to stay ahead of these and deliver on our purpose and commitment to brokers. That means constant engagement with colleagues in Leek Building Society, whether it be the underwriting team or the credit risk team, just trying to see if there are any opportunities that we can look to open small gaps that can hopefully enhance our policy.
How does Leek Building Society hope to be viewed by brokers and how will you deliver and maintain this in your role?
We would hope that our brokers view us as a distinctive and differentiated lender, one that successfully combines technology-enabled processes with a strong human touch. Our lending proposition is clearly differentiated, and our pricing remains competitive. When a broker submits a very well-packaged case, we’re committed to progressing it effectively and issuing an offer as quickly as possible. The consistency enables brokers to place reliance on both our service standards and our overall delivery. That’s one of the key components to why we’re successful at what we do.