L&G Mortgage Club launches specialist academy to build adviser expertise

L&G's Mortgage Club has launched a specialist academy designed to help advisers build the confidence and technical skills needed to support clients with increasingly complex borrowing needs.

The free-to-access programme combines a recognised industry qualification, specialist lender expertise, and practical learning tools within a single platform. 250 Mortgage Club members will take part in the pilot year, including advisers new to specialist lending and those looking to strengthen existing knowledge.

Participants will work towards the Certified Practitioner in Specialist Property Finance (CPSP) qualification from the LIBF, part of Walbrook Institute London. The academy covers all CPSP modules, including specialist property finance, regulation, bridging, commercial, and buy-to-let lending, alongside expert insights across bridging, commercial, specialist residential, specialist BTL, and second charge finance.

Learning content spans case studies, videos, interactive webinars, and expert-led material, all structured to allow advisers to apply knowledge directly to real client scenarios.

Clare Beardmore, director of Mortgage Club at L&G (pictured), said: "Specialist lending is one of the most advice-rich areas of the market, making quality adviser education essential. 

"As clients' needs evolve, advisers need both technical knowledge and real-world insight to deliver the best outcomes. That's why we're excited to launch our brilliant Specialist Academy, which reflects our commitment to championing the value of advice and equipping advisers with the skills to support a wide range of client needs in this complex market."

The programme was developed in collaboration with the LIBF, platform partners, and 11 specialist lenders. Together serves as headline sponsor, with Aldermore, Pepper Money, The Mortgage Lender, Bluestone Mortgages, InterBay, ModaMortgages, CHL Mortgages, Market Harborough Building Society, Paragon, Kensington Mortgages, and Vida Homeloans also providing sponsorship for the inaugural year.

Nick Parker, sales director in the network and clubs team at Together, comments: "We are delighted to launch Together's headline sponsorship of the L&G Mortgage Club Specialist Academy.

"Through providing engaging educational content to support 250 brokers with CPSP qualifications, we are looking to lead the way in raising awareness of the value of specialist lending.

"Our educational modules aim to immerse brokers in bridging and commercial term products so they feel more empowered and confident when cases requiring a specialist lens for these products come their way."

Advisers can register their interest for future programmes through L&G's dedicated Specialist Academy webpage.