The Intermediary – June 2025 - Flipbook - Page 18
In Profile.
Q&A
Jessica Bird speaks with Clare Beardmore, director of
distribution and Mortgage Club, mortgage services at
L&G, about the lessons learned in three decades since
the club’s launch
C
lare Beardmore stepped foot into
Leek Building Society at the age of
20, and went from serving at the
counter to leaving two decades
years later as head of sales. At Legal
& General (L&G), Beardmore describes her role as
director of distribution and Mortgage Club as being
a “champion of advice,” leading the effort to “make
a difference” in a market that is not just about
financial transactions, but getting people into their
dream homes.
This year, L&G’s Mortgage Club business
celebrates its 30-year anniversary. The
Intermediary sat down with Beardmore
to hear about the changes and
challenges, and understand what
might be coming in the next 30 years.
Major milestones
L&G’s Mortgage Club business reached
this “super milestone” by “thinking
passionately about mortgages and advice,”
Beardmore explains, adding: “What has been
very clear over the years is that L&G is a strong
CLARE
source of safety and security that can really
BEARDMORE
support difficult situations.”
Over the past 30 years, there has been no lack of
foundation-shaking events through which the club
has had to prove steady, from the Global Financial
Crisis to Covid-19 and Brexit.
“It’s at times like that, that L&G sits perfectly,
able to listen to lenders and brokers, and really
support the market,” says Beardmore.
Overall, Beardmore believes that L&G’s
Mortgage Club business has “made a difference
in the industry” in its first three decades, acting
for advisers and lenders, including supporting
businesses with the tools to reopen after
Covid-19. As a result of this journey, a quarter of
all mortgages in the UK market now pass through
the club’s proverbial doors. This puts it in a strong
position to continue supporting, growing and
improving the market.
Beardmore says: “As director, that’s one of my
overriding impressions – what a significant role
we’ve got. It’s unique that we can talk to lenders
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The Intermediary | June 2025
and advisers and get their viewpoints. You can
support bringing new lenders into the market,
giving them a platform, which ultimately changes
the landscape, opening up criteria and bringing
better competition.
“If we’ve got a strong housing market then
absolutely it’s good for the country, and with our
market share we get a good picture of what’s
going on out there. With that insight, we can
challenge positively, we can point things in the
right direction.”
In the time that L&G’s Mortgage Club business
has been active, the market has seen the
relationships between brokers, lenders and
the end customer shift. Beardmore says
navigating this changing relationship
is “what we do well” – influencing the
advice and lender markets to “challenge
the status quo.”
“We can highlight what’s going well with
lenders, but we also know what’s making
advisers unhappy, like dual pricing or reduced
proc fees for product transfers,” she explains.
“We’ve got a unique position from which to
drive conversation and debate, while considering
all the parties in the equation.”
The Mortgage Club also has a role acting as “the
combined voice of the adviser when it comes to
things like regulatory consultations.” On the other
side of this, it provides roadshows and continued
professional development (CPD) opportunities for
advisers themselves.
Human advice
For Beardmore, while the past 30 years have
seen many changes, especially in how advice is
delivered, there is something fundamental that
underpins this market.
She says: “I’ve been speaking to a lot of advisers,
especially over the past few weeks since the
release of the CP25/11, and what shines through
is that human interaction and empathy are what
makes the difference in our industry.
“Whether a person is looking for a tailored
mortgage or a suitable protection product, it is
that thoughtful and specialist advice that can
