New recruitment figures from national brokerage Just Mortgages has revealed that the majority of self-employed recruits in the past 12 months have been for principal firms, highlighting growing appetite among senior advisers to scale their own operations.
Nearly 60% of self-employed advisers recruited to Just Mortgages in the last year have been under principal businesses. Rather than as a solo operation, senior self-employed brokers recruit and build their own teams, whether it’s support staff or additional advisers. They are a key part of the brokerage’s long-term growth strategy.
A central part of the Just Mortgages proposition is the support provided to business principals as they grow – including recruitment support offered at no additional cost. This commitment has been further strengthened with the recent appointment of senior recruitment consultant Sascha Mason, who is focused on helping business principals attract adviser talent to expand their teams.
This approach is already delivering results, with Just Mortgages more than tripling the number of protection advisers within the self-employed division as principals look to diversify income streams, meet regulatory requirements and build more resilient businesses and client banks.
In 2025, Just Mortgages received more than 100 applications to join its self-employed division, underlining strong demand from advisers looking to move away from employed or corporate structures and build their own businesses with the backing of a national brokerage.
Ben Allkins, head of mortgages and protection at Just Mortgages, said: “There is a real appetite among business principals to grow right now. Advisers want to build sustainable businesses with people around them, not work in isolation, and that’s exactly what our model is designed to support.
“What sets us apart is that we actively help our business principals recruit and scale, and we do that at no extra cost. By investing in recruitment support and specialist roles, we’re removing one of the biggest barriers to growth and giving principals the confidence to take the next step. It’s just one example of the comprehensive support structure we place around all our self-employed advisers, whether that’s as a new starter or a principal firm.”
He added: “The volume of applications we’re seeing shows there is strong demand to go self-employed, but advisers want to do it the right way. Our focus on business principals is central to that and will remain a key driver of the division’s success.”
Just Mortgages’ self-employed division has seen continued growth, supported by ongoing training, mentoring and support with sales, marketing and compliance. Advisers can also access additional licence courses to explore new areas of advice, alongside Just Mortgages’ dedicated business principals programme - designed to equip brokers with the leadership and management skills needed to build and nurture their own teams.
Just Mortgages currently boasts more than 650 advisers across the country, including nearly 500 in its self-employed division and over 150 employed advisers in Spicerhaart estate agency branches nationwide.
