Almost four in 10, or 38%, of mortgage broker firms are expanding their operations, despite labour challenges in the marketplace, data from Paragon Bank shows.  

Among firms that plan to expand, increasing headcounts is “the most common way to bolster resources”, with 48% looking to take on experienced advisers, finds the specialist lender’s poll of over 330 brokers.  

Intermediary firms add that when recruiting they are looking for “knowledgeable staff who can hit the ground running, as well as diversification into more complex markets”.  

Three in 10 of the firms adding extra staff are recruiting trainee advisers to support long-term growth aspirations and a quarter are hiring paraplanners to assist advisers with admin, according to the bank’s Mortgage Intermediary Insight Report.  

It adds that only 7% of firms report that they are scaling back.  

However, brokers have noted recruitment challenges, with a third reporting that it is ‘fairly difficult’ to attract new staff and a further 31% calling it ‘very difficult’, while 5% say it is ‘very easy’, rising to 19% among those who consider increasing headcount to be ‘fairly easy’.  

To overcome this hurdle, many firms are focusing on boosting the skills of their existing workforce, with nearly half of firms in the study saying they have put in place such a scheme, or plan to do so.  

This is also supported by investment in other resources, the most popular being extra technology, followed by boosting the marketing department, chosen by 31% and 30% of expanding firms, respectively.  

Paragon Bank managing director for mortgages Richard Rowntree says: “It’s really encouraging to see intermediary firms expanding, it gives a good indication of the strength of the market and could be viewed as a reflection of the more positive outlook for this year.”  

He adds: “While I’m aware of the difficulty for those looking to take on experienced advisers, in line with data pointing to a tightening of the broader labour market in the UK, it’s reassuring to see that firms are mitigating any resource shortfalls by developing existing employees or investing in marketing and technology.”  

Data firm BVA BDRC surveyed 337 mortgage intermediaries in November 2023 for Paragon Bank.