Equity Release Council announces new board appointments following record growth

• The Council welcomes the first ever adviser representative, Key Retirement’s Richard Overson, onto its board
• Steve Ellis of Legal & General Home Finance also elected to the board 

The Equity Release Council (The Council) has appointed two new board directors from the ranks of industry business leaders following a vote by members announced at its Annual General Meeting last week.

The two new directors are Richard Overson, Group Director at Key Retirement and Steve Ellis, Managing Director at Legal & General Home Finance (LGHF). Richard Overson is The Council’s first board director to represent an adviser firm¹, and he has over 20 years’ experience in the sales and advice side of Key’s business. Richard is also a member of the original management team that founded Key Retirement.

Steve Ellis led the acquisition of Newlife in 2014 which brought Legal & General into the equity release sector, and he previously served as LGHF’s Chief Operating Officer following a distinguished and varied career in financial services.

Vanessa Owen, Head of Retirement Solutions Products at LV=, and Steve Kyle, Risk and Compliance Director at Just Retirement, have both also been re-elected. Each of the directors will serve for two years until 2019, and join the following existing board members:  

• Nigel Waterson, Chairman of The Council
• Donna Bathgate, Chief Operating Officer of The Council
• Chris Pond, Chairman of The Council’s Standards Board
• Paul Carter, Chief Executive of Pure Retirement
• Paul Barber, Director of Retirement Bridge
• Deian Jones, Managing Director of Hodge Lifetime
• Roger Marsden, Managing Director (Equity Release) of Aviva
• Dave Harris, Managing Director of more2Life

Separately, with effect from May 2017, The Council has confirmed the latest appointments of industry experts to its Standards Board:

• Provider representative:  David Forsdyke, Head of Compliance (Equity Release) at Retirement Advantage
• Adviser representative: Susan Jeffery, Financial Advisor at Ainsdale Finance Ltd
• Solicitor representative: Claire Barker, Managing Director of Equilaw
• Surveyor representative: Mel Kettle, Director Client Services at Gateway Surveyors

The Standards Board is responsible for maintaining, developing and promoting the Rules and Guidance and the Statement of Principles that all Council members agree to, ensuring a safe and reliable market for consumers.

Both sets of appointments follow record-breaking growth for the sector in the first quarter of 2017, when total lending reached £697 million (up 77% year-on-year) and 8,351 new plans were agreed (up 61% year-on-year). 

The last twelve months have also seen The Council commemorate 25 years since the first industry Standards were introduced; reach 557 members representing 173 member firms including its first network member, The Lighthouse Group; and launch a new white paper, Equity release rebooted, setting out views on the future of housing equity as retirement income.

Nigel Waterson, Chairman of the Equity Release Council said:

“We welcome the new board members amid a time of unprecedented growth in the equity release sector. Our new directors bring a wealth of experience and expert knowledge to the table, helping us represent this fast-growing market and steer the next phase of its evolution. I would also like to thank the outgoing board members for their valued support and guidance during this period of high growth.

“The rapid growth in demand for equity release products demonstrates the growing importance of housing wealth as a necessary source of income in later life. The Council is focused – now more than ever – on supporting this momentum, and facilitating the safe growth of the equity release sector.”

Steve Ellis, Managing Director, Legal & General Home Finance, said:

“In recent years, the Council has played an important role in building consumer protection guarantees and helping to position lifetime mortgages as a mainstream solution for individuals approaching retirement.  As the market continues to grow at record pace and as more and more consumers choose lifetime mortgages as part of their retirement plan, it is vital that we continue to look to the future and talk positively about the role that the lifetime mortgage sector can play in terms of securing retirement outcomes for customers.

“At Legal & General Home Finance, we remain committed to building the retirement lending market, developing innovative new products and improving flexibility for consumers. I look forward to working closely with other council members to continue raising awareness about the positive role lifetime mortgages can play in retirement with both advisers and consumers.”

-Ends-

For further information, please contact:

• Jordan Campbell, Will Muir or Sam Ferris at Instinctif Partners, on 020 7427 1400 or email [email protected]

Notes to editors

¹ Colin Taylor was previously elected to The Council’s board in 2014 as a representative of KR Group, encompassing Key Retirement, Key Partnerships, Key Secured Lending and more2life.

About The Equity Release Council:

The Equity Release Council is the industry body for the equity release sector, which represents over 500 members including providers, qualified financial advisers, solicitors, surveyors and other industry professionals. 

It works to ensure a safe equity release market for consumers, by operating rigorous Standards for the provision of advice and products which guarantee security of tenure and financial protections. 2016 marked the 25th anniversary since the first industry Standards were created for equity release in 1991. Since then, more than 380,000 consumers have taken out an equity release plan from Council members, drawing on over £19bn of housing wealth.

The Council also works with consumers, industry and policy makers to improve awareness and understanding of equity release and the potential for housing wealth to help solve many of the financial challenges facing people over the age of 55 across the UK.