“The way people earn money has changed but the way many mortgage applications are assessed hasn’t,” declares Sat Singh the owner of advice and broker business Cleerly (www.cleerly.co.uk). By helping borrowers with mixed incomes present the full picture of their affordability they get over the line with lenders and benefit from the options available. “More people work flexibly as contractors, run their own businesses or have different income sources. One salary and the traditional PAYE model do not reflect the reality of many households,” explains the long-time entrepreneur now seeing 20 per cent improved productivity because of AI.
“Getting a mortgage can be frustrating because of high street lending systems designed around straightforward salaried employment. Earnings from dividends, retained company profits, day rates or restricted stock units can be difficult for automated systems to assess. But we can do that and advocate on a borrower’s behalf or interrogate credit score markers. Complex income is our core specialism.” A mortgage industry expert Singh set up the company six years ago to address the impact of this major flexibility shift in working lives. “That created a need for a modern, technology-enabled service,” he says. “Cleerly was established to combine the expertise of specialist advisers with a much more efficient digital experience. It’s a need that has increased post-pandemic and the wider economic volatility.
“There’s also been a major shift in consumers’ expectations. People are used to managing their finances digitally and we offer convenience without losing access to expert human advice. We’ve also developed national referral relationships with accountants, professional networks and legal firms helping customers and speeding up access while opening up opportunities to scale.
“Technology allows us to look at someone’s full income picture and identify appropriate lenders. Our digital pre-qualification workflows can assess factors such as contract length, retained profit and trading history. The mortgage market can change quickly so maintaining close relationships is crucial.”
Fees are from £495 and Cleerly’s strongest area is helping limited company directors present their true earning power not just their salary and dividends. “Some lenders can take account of operating profit after corporation tax alongside salary,” observes Singh. “In some circumstances lenders may assess borrowing capacity using a contractor’s day rate and annualised contract value rather than needing years of traditional accounts.”
A £3million turnover is forecast for 2027/28 along with 25 per cent annual growth and some £600,000 from Singh and a group of private backers has been invested in the business’s digital journey. The company now employs 18 developing its expertise in areas from small business owners and contractors to umbrella payroll providers, seafarers wrestling with intermittent offshore working lives and professionals’ equity stakes.
Demand is also increasing for protection advice and Cleerly’s clientele now includes creatives, solicitors, traders and entrepreneur founders. Faster and smarter service delivery is the next goal as the company extends its specialist offering in second charge and later life lending next year along with commercial property finance to SMEs. And there’s no shortage of job satisfaction with Singh citing the example of a pharmacist working as a locum who then found herself in financial difficulties and desperate to remortgage. “She was on a standard variable rate and facing wipe-out,” he recalls. “Cleerly stopped it all unravelling.” www.cleerly.co.uk
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