Just Mortgages has expanded its self-employed division with the appointment of Gina McLaren to the role of area director.
Based in Leicestershire, Gina will be working with self-employed advisers across the Midlands region, using her two decades of experience to support their development and the growth of their businesses. Alongside developing business plans and exploring growth opportunities, Gina will be connecting advisers with in-house training, marketing and recruitment support. She will also play an active role in expanding the region and division by recruiting new self-employed talent.
Gina started her career with Countrywide, spending nearly eight years as an adviser. She would later join Connells in 2014, reuniting with her former colleagues following the acquisition of Countrywide in 2021. Having initially joined as an adviser, Gina then climbed the ranks at Connells and has served as an area manager for eight years. During her tenure, she has built a proven track record for managing and developing teams of highly-successful advisers.
The move strengthens the self-employed management team at Just Mortgages and adds further real-world expertise and experience for advisers to tap into. In total, the management team supports nearly 500 self-employed advisers across the country.
Gina McLaren said: “It’s been really refreshing to join Just Mortgages and I’m excited to put my experience to good use within the self-employed division. Everyone has been so friendly, approachable and helpful, and I’ve been given plenty of support and reassurance as I get started in the role.
“For me, leadership is about authenticity, trust and helping people become the very best version of themselves. As an area director working with self-employed advisers, it’s a privilege to help advisers build businesses that work for them, their ambitions and their lifestyles. What I enjoy most about my role is the people. There’s nothing more rewarding than seeing someone achieve a level of success they never thought possible, whether that’s growing their business, improving their work-life balance or gaining the confidence to pursue opportunities they once thought were out of reach. Those values clearly align with Just Mortgages, which makes this a fantastic opportunity for me.”
Ben Allkins, head of mortgages and protection at Just Mortgages, adds: “I have known Gina for a number of years and I know she will be a tremendous addition to our self-employed management team. Not only does she have plenty of experience for advisers to draw on, but she also has a clear passion for development and working side by side with advisers to help them achieve success – however they define that.
“We have invested considerable time and effort into building the right infrastructure around advisers to allow them to launch, scale and succeed. Each adviser will require their own level of support and will have their own specific needs, whether that’s additional licences, recruitment support or simply, the flexibility and autonomy to do what they do best. Adding expertise to our management is a key part of that strategy and one of the many reasons why ambitious advisers continue to seek out Just Mortgages for self-employed opportunities.”
Among the applicants looking to join Just Mortgages, there are advisers taking their first steps into running their own business, as well as existing self-employed advisers looking to move away from more corporate structures. Either way, advisers have the opportunity to set up under the Just Mortgages banner or using their own name and trading style.
All advisers have access to Just Mortgages’ learning and development team and its 24/7 online learning platform. For advisers looking to scale their business, they can enrol on additional licensing courses or even explore the business principals programme. This provides ambitious brokers with the relevant training to not only expand their own teams, but improve their leadership and management skills. The division even has dedicated recruitment specialists to help principal firms in building out their team.
