‘Be the broker who knows the answer!’

This week, Mortgage Introducer is putting the spotlight on Marcus Robinson (pictured top), managing director of Mortgage Style and Brunel Bridging, who began his 25-year career driven by a straightforward ambition: to be the broker who always has the answer.

Now based in Bristol and serving clients across the UK, Robinson has built two firms around the principle that no case should be turned away without a fight — and that the best brokers earn that confidence not from online forums, but from years of direct experience with lenders and their criteria. 

Full name: Marcus Robinson

Job title: Managing director

Company: Mortgage Style and Brunel Bridging 

Number of years in the industry: 25

Location: Bristol, with clients across the UK

How and when did you become a mortgage broker?

I’ve been a mortgage broker for 25 years, beginning my career with spells at boutique investment firms as well as larger banks.

I had bags of drive and ambition and, after spending time working at my local leisure centre, realised that I enjoyed working with people but wasn’t achieving my full potential. Thankfully, dealing with numbers came easily to me, so mortgage broking was an obvious choice.

My time learning the job at other firms showed me how our industry can alienate and underserve many groups of people. If a case proved tricky to place, I saw brokers quick to say they couldn’t help. I knew that with some perseverance and by building good relationships with lenders, it should be possible to find a mortgage for almost any situation.

That passion for sourcing a deal no matter the circumstances led me to launch my own firm, Mortgage Style, 20 years ago, where tenacity and the will to find a deal for every client provide the backbone of our shared values.

In your opinion, what has been the most positive development in broking?

I think the easy go-to answer for this is the advancement of technology and how it’s been used to make the borrowing journey a much smoother process than it was many years ago.

My take is a little different, in that I believe competition in the market — with many new lenders opening their doors since I began advising — has been a great thing for borrowers. Yes, there are still the “big six” which dominate our industry, but the range of options for those who don’t fit mainstream criteria is infinitely better than it used to be. Challenger lenders have begun to dominate on specialisms like adverse credit, mortgages for the self-employed, and getting renters into their own homes. Family borrowing is also a growing trend, supported by some of the lesser-known building societies.

What challenges do you see currently facing the industry, and what solutions would you propose?

The biggest challenge is always going to be price instability. It’s worse now that global markets are so closely interconnected and reactionary.

I’m not sure there’s a way to prevent rates changing the way they do, but as brokers, it’s our job to factor future budget resilience into our clients’ mortgage plans. Robust borrowing with “plan B” strategies for repayment, making sure clients aren’t over-stretched from an affordability perspective, and ensuring they’re making decisions while fully aware of the changing rate landscape, is fundamental to the advice process.

Exceptional communication with clients forms the foundation of our service. It’s something clients have mentioned in almost all of our five-star reviews, of which we have more than 600. It’s not just about keeping clients up to date — which is obviously important during the lengthy buying process — but also about making sure they really understand what they’re signing up to. Turning industry jargon into accessible language that lands key messages is a broker’s superpower, and something some firms can lose sight of when they’re in the mortgage “trenches” every day.

Can you share a memorable or challenging experience from your career as a broker and the lessons you gained from it?

Working from home when we all had to, a few years ago, was a big challenge — not just around the ability to operate that way, but in the manner in which we support clients. Our strength in sourcing deals in almost all situations comes in part from working closely together in the office, which allows us to bounce ideas around and draw on each other’s experience.

A collective “hive mind” approach to helping clients means we can source quickly and efficiently. Being at home on a full-time basis made us appreciate that shared knowledge all the more, and we’ve made the most of it since being reunited — and continue to do so to this day.

Could you share any valuable advice for individuals aspiring to become brokers, or those new to broking?

Ours is not an easy profession to excel in. Qualification is fairly straightforward, but it doesn’t prepare you to do the job, and you don’t really become a competent broker until you’ve been advising for several years. Experience teaches you the importance of collecting case details from clients accurately and understanding what’s important in building your application for the lender — which relies on knowing what underwriters need to see in a case.

The longer you’re advising, the more chance you have to meet with a wide range of lenders on a regular basis, and the more real-life experience you gain, learning lenders’ criteria — even their unpublished policy and USPs. This is vital in becoming a rounded and effective broker, as you can identify a solution early on and be alerted to any potential issues.

I see examples all too often these days of brokers trying to cheat the system by jumping on various forums and social media groups when they’re trying to find a solution for a tough scenario. Getting quick answers like this means the learning doesn’t stick as well as it should, and inevitably you’ll end up needing to go round the same cycle again for the same information. If you have a good working knowledge of lender criteria in the first place, built by dealing with them first hand, you won’t need to ask online. Be the difference — be the broker who knows the answer!

Broker in Focus is a weekly Mortgage Introducer feature, spotlighting mortgage brokers from diverse backgrounds and locations across the UK. Among those recently featured are Natalie Hines of Premier One Mortgages, Joe Stallard of House and Holiday Home Mortgages, Sam Ewen of Rosehill Financial Services, Stuart Mosley of SJ Financial Solutions, Andrew Watson of Echo Finance, Tracie Selley of Approved Mortgage Solutions, Craig Chavez of Three Keys Mortgages, Bryan Brett of Just Mortgages, and Joanne Pay of Elysian Trust Financial.