Pink director Mark Graves has resigned after three and a half years running the network.
Graves was asked to run Pink in January 2012 after parent company LSL Property Services bought the network from Skipton Building Society. Prior to this he was financial services development director at LSL.
Graves, who is also managing director of brokerage Linear Financial Services, has not yet left the firm. A spokeswoman said he has not taken up another role at this time.
Graves says: “I am extremely proud of what we have achieved during the last four years and would like to thank the staff and advisers for the commitment and support they have given me during this time.”
LSL Group financial services director Jon Round says: “Following the acquisition of Pink in 2010, LSL had a clear vision of how we could help firms and advisers in the network realise their potential in a recovering market. During this period Pink has grown from strength to strength, regularly breaking performance records and winning numerous industry awards.’
“Now that the business is in such a strong position, Mark has indicated that he wishes to seek out a new opportunity and I wish him well in whatever venture he takes on next. In Pink Network, Mark is leaving a business that has an exciting future; Pink is well placed to deliver further growth, and we will continue to enhance the support to our advisers as we move into the next phase of the development of the business.”
Now now children. Play nicely…
It’s always good to have a bit of banter James.!
I’ve been a broker since 2002 and a HNW Broker for the last 10 years so perhaps you can refer the large loans to me as I have as much expertise and Private Bank connections as largemortgageloans.com and happy to give you a more generous commission split!! lol Always looking at the business angle!
Paul – good to see a High Net Worth broker have a crumb of conscience about the failing AR. I look forward to food banks for them and a Foundation for Disadvantaged ARs. For someone with only 10 years in the business there is still much to learn and commenting about an area you don’t even operate in is misguided.
I have been contributing to MS for many years and would never boast about my income but having personally placed £50-£100m of debt per annum for the last 15 years in the Mainstream market you only have to ‘do the math’. Quaestus is Latin for ‘profit’ so I think I have your number – 1% arrangement fees all round.? I sometimes charge £250 or £350 a case and am happy with the proc fees and commission from appropriate protection sales. I believe in a fair days pay for a fair days work – cherry picking and charging high fees is not my game.
The large loan market is not well catered for by the Networks as it is niche, hence I use Largemortgageloans for the bigger cases who are truly excellent.
Networks do much for their ARs and it is only fair they charge the appropriate fees. We live in a very different world from when ARs who did not come from a credit background could peddle self cert and fast track left right and centre. The underachieving AR now does a few cases with his favourite lenders to make a living, which is dangerous. Mortgage Brokers need to be professional, active and diligent at all times and know all their lenders to ensure a good outcome for the client.
Paul – happy to joust anytime!!
Paul – so nice to see a High Net Worth broker have a crumb of care for the struggling AR, next you will be setting up a Foundation for Needy ARs or a food bank for those who can’t hack it in the post financial crisis era. For someone who has only been in the game for circa 10 years you still have a lot to learn,I think. So £1m plus loans eh? Not really a background for discussing an area of the mortgage market which is not really catered for by the networks anyway? Quaestus I believe is Latin for profit so I think I’ve got your number – 1% arrangement fee per case? Like you I have enjoyed a very good income for the past 20 years but rarely charge a penny.
I do love a joust with the cherry pickers!!
James I suggest you speak to all the Pink AR’s and Pink BDM’s who feel Mark Graves and LSL have ruined Pink as a Network. I am not a part time broker and not a Pink AR. In fact I specialise in £1million+ mortgages with Private Banks and my clients include Judges,QC’s and top London Dentists. I earn in excess of six figures per annum so I suggest it is you that is talking utter nonsense not me.
I have known Mark Graves for over 10 years when Linear were with Openwork. He and I sat on various peer groups which helped rebuild the Openwork mortgage proposition post financial crisis. He has achieved much over the years and has gained the respect of many in the Industry including me.
It is disappointing that the MS moderator approved Mr Adams comment which as little more than unprepared drivel. Perhaps Mr Adams is one of the part time brokers I referred to in my letter to the Editor last week and is worried about higher network fees to underpin his two cases a month!
Furthermore having just recovered from 13 months treatment for bowel cancer it goes without saying the policies I sold myself including Critical Illness, Income Protection and Private Medical Insurance have been key in enabling me to have a stress free environment to recover from illness. By the way I have still managed to complete of £60m of lending in the last 12 months.
Mr Adams suggests Mark is from another planet – certainly not. Mr Adams, from a pre-historic era definitely.
Regarding the point raised that “Mr Graves was coming from the standpoint of how can someone recommend a product if they don’t have it themselves?” We have brokers at our company who live in rented accomodation, does this mean that they can’t reccomend mortgages ?
I do agree with protection, but I think Mr Graves didn’t understand how to sell it ! I’d love to know by how much protection sales increased under Mr Grave’s tenure ?
Well said Paul.
He was a total ass at Spicer Haart and obviously hasn’t changed
With regard to the comments by Mr Paul Adams: Mr Graves was coming from the standpoint of how can someone recommend a product if they don’t have it themselves?
I’m sure that anyone who took a mortgage out along with income protection (as a result of advice from a Pink adviser) and was then unable to work through sickness or accident or redundancy, would not think that having such protection was a “ridiculous idea”.
As far as I am aware he did not “insist” that every client had it but insisted (quite rightly in my opinion) that it was at least discussed.
James Mather
DMS Security Plans
Perhaps his resignation was because of his ridiculous idea that all of his AR’s needed to take out Income Protection or the fact that he insisted that every client have Income Protection or perhaps it is because he wanted to force struggling brokers out of Pink by putting fees up for them as opposed to helping them?
Pink will be a much better Network without Mr Graves who clearly is not from Planet Earth