Spotlight: Q&A with Grant Seaton, Head of Intermediary Lending
Grant Seaton, Head of Intermediary Lending at The Cumberland, reflects on The Cumberland's 175 anniversary, our continued focus on broker relationships and the evolving Holiday Let market.
You’re celebrating The Cumberland’s 175th anniversary this year. How does a mutual with that kind of heritage stay relevant to today’s broker market?
When you’ve been around as long as we have, heritage is naturally part of the story. But we’ve never stood still. What’s kept us going for 175 years is our ability to evolve while staying true to the values that matter - supporting people and the communities we serve.
That same thinking runs through everything we do with brokers; we’re here to build lasting relationships. Since launching our intermediary division, we’ve grown the team, introduced new tools and widened access to our product range, but our approach has always stayed consistent. We haven’t lost sight of what brokers need from us, which is responsiveness, clarity and a common sense approach.
We’ve grown into Cumbria’s largest financial institution, with £3.2bn in assets, 762 staff and 31 branches across the region. Those numbers sound big, but we still pick up the phone, know our customers by name, and care about every case.
Do you have a particular lending specialism?
Yes, Holiday Lets are where we’ve really built up long-standing experience. We’ve been supporting brokers in this space for over two decades, lending across England, Scotland and Wales, and over that time we’ve developed a strong feel for what makes a viable Holiday Let proposition.
The Holiday Let market has seen some tightening of criteria or pausing of certain types of new business recently. At The Cumberland we’re fully committed to supporting the Holiday Let market for the long term, and last month we reduced our core range fee to support landlords looking to keep costs manageable.
With our Specialist Range we offer lending to all entity types where they have portfolios of up to 20 properties. We can arrange finance on up to 10 properties in that instance. We’re also happy to consider first-time investors. When it comes to Limited Company lending we set ourselves apart as we don’t require personal guarantees as part of the transaction.
With the market tightening, how are you helping brokers with complex Holiday Let cases?
Let’s be honest, most Holiday Lets are no longer straightforward, if they ever were. But that’s where we thrive and our approach really comes into its own. We don’t follow a rigid formula. Every case is manually underwritten, which gives us the flexibility to really understand the story behind each application rather than rely on set criteria.
We recently funded a converted grain mill near Eyemouth, Scotland. It had history, character, and no shortage of quirks, not many comparables, no Holiday Let licence in place and a tight timeline. Some lenders said “too tricky.” We said, “let’s see what we can do.”
We worked with the broker, made the license a release condition, and kept everything else moving. It’s that kind of flexibility brokers really value, especially when their clients are trying to bring something special to life.
Cases like that show the importance of staying close to the detail. When brokers bring us something unusual, we’ll take the time to explore it with them and see what’s possible.
What does Kinder Banking mean for brokers in practical terms?
At its core, it means putting people first. That includes brokers, clients and everyone we deal with. For us, it’s about building relationships, being approachable, and being consistent in how we work.
We’ve built a team of 22, with many years of mortgage experience behind them. Most of us have been on both sides of the desk — advising, underwriting, managing. We know how much pressure brokers are under, and we’re here to help, not hold things up.
Every broker we work with has a named point of contact. That person knows your processes and how you work. It’s all part of building trust over time.
What improvements have you made to support brokers day to day?
Quite a few. We’ve made real progress on the digital side in the past year. One of the biggest changes has been the launch of our affordability calculator for residential cases. It’s intuitive, easy to use and is already making a big difference in helping brokers assess cases upfront. We’ve had really positive feedback on it, both for speed and clarity.
Alongside that, we’ve introduced a new broker portal, making it easier to submit and track applications. And we’ve added our products to platforms like Trigold, Mortgage Brain and Twenty7Tec so they’re easier to find and compare.
But the tech is only part of the story. Service still comes down to people. Brokers want someone who picks up the phone, gives a straight answer and sees the case through. That’s what we focus on every day.
How are you balancing growth with that level of service?
We remain fully focused on the service we deliver, on being reliable and available. Our residential lending is focused on Cumbria, Southwest Scotland, North Lancashire and West Northumberland, plus a small number of long-standing London brokers.
We also work with Directly Authorised firms and Appointed Representatives through partners like Sesame and Mortgage Advice Bureau.
What changes are you seeing in the Holiday Let market, and how are you adapting?
It’s maturing. Landlords are becoming more professional. Regulation is tightening. Demand is still strong, especially in the right areas, but the bar is higher. That’s why we keep our approach flexible.
Sykes Cottages recently reported average gross annual revenues of over £34,000, and more for well-located, year-round lets. So there’s still a strong business case, it just needs a lender who understands how to assess it properly.
We’re ready for what’s next. With a big remortgaging wave expected in 2025 and 2026, brokers need lenders they can trust to be in the market.
And finally, how does being a mutual influence how you work with intermediaries?
It’s everything. We’re not driven by shareholder returns. We’re here to support our members, and that includes brokers. We reinvest our profits into the business — into people, into service, into tech that improves the customer experience. We look forward to continuously enhancing our service and supporting brokers who do a fantastic job in supporting the market.
Click here for more information on our Intermediary offering.