Just Mortgages plans to more than double the number of advisers in its self-employed division over the next three years.
Speaking at the Just Mortgages self-employed conference at the Belfry earlier this month, Carl Parker, director at Just Mortgages, said broker numbers — which currently stand at 190 — are set to hit 240 by January 2020, 350 by 2021 and 500 by 2022.
The broker firm set up its self-employed division in 2016, aiming to offer a solution to brokers looking to go self-employed but worried about losing the support an employed role gives.
At the time, just three brokers worked in the division. The total rose to 81 by December 2017 and a year later, 140 self-employed brokers were members.
Just Mortgages has also grown the number of support staff, with eight area directors now on board and the ninth joining in September.
As a result, lending in the self-employed division has gone from £36m in 2016, to £700m in 2018 and is on target for £1bn of lending in 2019.
Mr Parker said the self-employed division’s success was down to the fact it offered the best of both worlds.
He said: "The broker is self-employed, and therefore, in control of their own destiny. But they have a dedicated sales manager to help and support them.
"And, unlike other networks with self-employed arms, we don’t charge a monthly fee so it is in everyone’s best interest for our self-employed brokers to be successful."
Mr Parker said the firm was also working with two lead providers to provide mortgage leads to the self-employed brokers.
Just Mortgages became the top firm in its network Openwork last year after it doubled its employed broker numbers to 230.
Rival broker firm John Charcol also announced an expansion of its self-employed network last week, actively recruiting for the first time and looking to double its adviser numbers.
imogen.tew@ft.com
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