Moneybox expands mortgage advisory division with new MD, Cecilia Mourain

App-based digital wealth manager, Moneybox, has hired former Paddy Power Betfair director, Cecilia Mourain, to head up its homebuying advisory division – Moneybox Mortgages.

The free mortgage advisory service, which was launched in March 2021, is designed to take aspiring first-time buyers through the property buying process, from saving for a deposit, through to securing a mortgage and completing on the property.

Aimed at first-time buyers and those looking to re-mortgage, through the Moneybox app users can generate a ‘mortgage in principle’, apply for a mortgage and track their progress.

Mourain claims that Moneybox Mortgages provides an integrated service that goes beyond the usual remit of mortgage brokers and takes the stress out of homebuying.

She says: “While mortgage brokers have long existed to help people find the best terms for their loans, that is no longer enough. A large proportion of adults in the UK still see buying a house as one of the more stressful experiences of modern life.”

According to Moneybox, the firm has emerged as the biggest provider of Lifetime ISAs (LISAs) in the UK, accounting for over half of new LISAs opened last year.

Charlie Mortimer, the firm’s co-founder, says that Moneybox Mortgages was developed in response to the “thousands of mortgage-specific queries from our customers [that] illustrated the need for expert advice and support…”

The company hopes that Mourain will lead greater integration of Moneybox’s Lifetime ISA savings and mortgages offerings to improve the home-buying journey for its customers.