Just Mortgages has added to its self-employed division by appointing Zarah Gulfraz to the role of area director for the North. Based in Manchester, she will be working closely with self-employed brokers across the region to develop their business plans, identify and explore growth opportunities and even scale up their business through recruitment. She will work closely with brokers to access in-house training, compliance and marketing support. Gulfraz joins the firm with almost 15 years in the mortgage industry, after joining Britannia Building Society in 2010. She has also worked at Aldermore and Reeds Rains, and most recently worked at Loan.co.uk as head of mortgage sales before joining Just Mortgages.

Hampshire Trust Bank (HTB) has appointed four new lending managers to its broker support team. Laila Perryman joins HTB from Sirius Group, where she managed lending cases for over three years and became CeMAP-certified. Edward Shannon has joined HTB, having most recently worked at United Trust Bank, where he was a relationship manager. Previously, he worked as lending manager for Recognise Bank, after spending four years at start-up challenger, Redwood Bank. HTB has also bolstered its sales team appointing Alex Mills, who previously led inside sales for Australian bank, Moula, and Gabriella Csende, who has been promoted from lending assessor to lending manager.

Solutions by Foundation has launched a new set of products called HMO Plus for properties which are slightly more complex than a normal HMO. HMO Plus is a specific range of products for HMOs which require a commercial valuation, for example, a property with multiple kitchens. The products are available for properties with up to six occupants or bedrooms. The lender is launching two new specific HMO Plus products, with both 65% and 75% LTV options, available within Solutions by Foundation. Two-year fixed-rate HMO Plus products start from 6.99% for 65% LTV and 7.09% for 75% LTV, while the five-year options start at 6.44% and 6.64% respectively. All HMO Plus products come with a 2% fee.

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