Target Group has appointed Melanie Spencer as its new growth and sales lead, to help drive the firm’s sales and business development functions. She joins the firm with over 20 years of experience in the mortgage market, having worked in senior roles at Personal Touch, Twenty7Tech, Finova and OMS. Target is part of the 146,000-person strong Tech Madindra group, providing business process servicing and digital transformation. This incorporates mortgage servicing, mortgage originations and third-party administration. The appointment comes as Target Group launched Mortgage Hub, its originations system designed to be user rate than product-centric.

Maeve Ward has been promoted to the role of head of intermediary sales for personal finance at Together. As part of the role, she will lead the intermediary team to support brokers with personal finance products, including first and second mortgages, regulated bridging loans and consumer buy-to-let. Ward brings over 25 years’ experience to the position, starting her career with First National Bank, before moving to GE Money and bridging lender, Link Lending. She took up a position at Shawbrook Bank in 2010, spending nearly a decade at the firm before starting her own lender, Focused Lending. Ward joins Together from Central Trust and Mercantile Trust, where she was director of commercial operations.

Aldermore has expanded its mortgage proposition to allow for self-employed contractors that work via a limited company or sole trader to be assessed for affordability on an employed basis using gross income. Prospective buyers need to have either 12 months’ history as a contractor or 24 months in the same line of work, providing there are two months remaining or a renewal agreed. Income for contractors will be determined based on the day or hourly rate of their current contract, multiplied across 46 weeks. As a result of the changes, all contractors will have access to 90% LTV for self-employed contractors and up to 95% LTV for those working via an umbrella company or a fixed-term contract.

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