Stonebridge sees 24% rise in lending to record £16.2bn
The network hosted more than 500 guests at the Celtic Manor Resort in Wales, where it shared its latest performance figures and outlook for the year ahead.
Stonebridge arranged £16.2bn of mortgages in 2025, up 24% on the previous year, as its appointed representatives completed 24.3% more cases, delegates at its annual conference heard.
The network hosted more than 500 guests at the Celtic Manor Resort in Wales, where it shared its latest performance figures and outlook for the year ahead.
Stonebridge said its AR firms’ 24.3% increase in completed mortgages significantly outpaced its 11.3% growth in adviser numbers over the same period.
The firm described itself as the second-largest mortgage-focused network by number of AR firms, having added more ARs than any other similar network last year for the fourth consecutive year.
Speaking at the conference, Liz Martins, UK economist at HSBC UK, said there were “reasons to be more cheerful” about the UK economy and reiterated her forecast that the Bank of England base rate would fall to 3% by the end of 2026.
She told delegates: “There is a path for things to get better from here. It is a narrow path. There are plenty of pitfalls and risks along the way but there are reasons to be more cheerful for this year.
“The first is lower inflation. Our forecast is that we’ll be back down to 2.1% by April. We’ll briefly dip below the Bank of England’s target in the summer.
“We’ll be back around that more normal 2% level and I think all of us will really benefit from that because, as households, we all feel the impact [and] as businesses it’s a problem.
“It’s a problem for Rachel Reeves as well because it keeps interest rates and Gilt yields higher. Lower inflation will help everybody I think.”
Martins added that wages had been rising faster than inflation and that interest rate cuts could help unlock spending in the wider economy.
She also said the Chancellor built a larger fiscal cushion in the most recent Budget, suggesting 2026 could be a quieter year for fiscal policy, while business confidence was improving.
The conference programme included sessions on performance trends among the fastest-growing AR firms, market opportunities, artificial intelligence document processing and regulatory developments.
Delegates were urged to introduce protection conversations earlier in the mortgage process following the FCA’s interim Pure Protection Market Study, which highlighted the protection gap as a key concern.
Rob Clifford (pictured, right), chief executive at Stonebridge, said: “It was a wonderful day and there was so much energy in the room.
“Dame Kelly was an inspiration and, with so much to celebrate at the network, the sense of self-belief and pride was palpable.
“I always enjoy seeing our members interact with each other because it’s the one time in the calendar where they really get to see how they’re part of something bigger.
“They see the culture they build with us reflected in advisers they’ve never met before, but will go on to build lasting relationships with.
“This is all being captured in the sector-leading growth we’re delivering, both in lending figures and adviser numbers.
“The day itself is never just a meet-and-greet, although it’s always superb fun.
“We send all our advisers away with a deeper understanding of the opportunities and challenges in front of them, and a lot of what happens on the day shapes how we amend our services over the next 12 months. It’s incredibly valuable all round.”
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