Leeds BS brings in new business development manager

February 8, 2026 by Brendan O'Neill

Lenders

Leeds Building Society has brought in Sarah Hartwell as a new business development manager (BDM), where she will be charged with supporting its intermediary partners.

Hartwell has worked within the financial services sector for over two decades. She has been employed as both a BDM and a national account manager at a variety of companies. Among them are Foundation, Vida, The Mortgage Lender, Nationwide and Northern Rock. This means she will have plenty of experience to help her adjust to her new position at Leeds BS.

She will be tasked with assisting its intermediary partners in four separate locations. They are Swindon, Cardiff, Bristol and Bath. The appointment shows that the building society is keen to improve the level of support that it offers to mortgage advisors.

Leeds BS intermediary partnerships head James O’Reilly told Mortgage Solutions that the company was delighted to have Hartwell on board. He stated that she would assist it in the goal of making buying a home possible for greater numbers of people.

O’Reilly then went on by adding that:

“Sarah’s appointment further strengthens our intermediary distribution team and supports our ambitious growth plans. Sarah brings a wealth of experience and exciting new ideas to the team.”

He concluded by saying that the next step would be to let her meet the mortgage advisors that she will be helping in her new role.

A lot of advisors choose to join networks after they have gained their CeMAP mortgage advisor qualification, because of the standard of support that is offered to them.