Independent mortgage broker UK Mortgage Centre has launched a new brand identity as it continues to extend its reach across the country, marking an important milestone in the evolution of a business that began life in Warrington and has since grown into a genuinely national operation.

The business was established in a small Warrington office with a straightforward ambition: to make the mortgage process easier to understand and considerably less stressful for the people going through it. That founding vision has remained constant even as the business itself has expanded significantly.

The rebrand, which encompasses a fully updated website, has been developed to reflect the scale and nature of the operation as it stands today, whilst preserving the direct, people-centred approach that drove its initial success and built its early reputation.

The refreshed visual and verbal identity has been designed to communicate more accurately the way in which the business now operates, providing advice that is free from unnecessary jargon, delivering a more personal level of service and creating an environment in which customers facing significant financial decisions feel informed and supported rather than overwhelmed.

Sam Fox, founder of UK Mortgage Centre, said: “We started UK Mortgage Centre because we believed there was a better way to guide people through the mortgage process. It can feel overwhelming, and we wanted to create something that simply speaks to people in a clear and honest way. As we’ve grown beyond Warrington, it became important that our brand reflected how we actually work today, approachable, straightforward and focused on people. What hasn’t changed is our commitment to giving honest advice and making sure clients feel confident and supported at every stage.”

The rebrand has been described by the business as a marker of its expanding national footprint, though it maintains the grounded, accessible character that helped the company find its footing in the first place. The service model continues to be built around independent advice that is shaped around the circumstances and needs of each individual client, whether that person is buying their first home, remortgaging an existing property or looking to move to their next one.

Sam added: “For most people, this is one of the biggest financial decisions they’ll ever make, so it’s about more than just getting from application to offer. It’s about trust, clarity and making sure people feel looked after. If the new brand helps us communicate that more clearly as we continue to grow, then it’s done exactly what we set out to achieve.”

Please be aware that your home may be repossessed if you do not maintain your mortgage repayments, as a mortgage is secured against it. The Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate certain types of buy-to-let mortgages, nor does it regulate will writing, taxation or trust advice.

Effective SharePoint training is built around two things: practical application and relevance to the roles of the people being trained. When it delivers both, users gain the confidence to work with the platform as part of their everyday working life rather than treating it as something separate from their normal tasks.

The most successful training does not attempt to cover every technical aspect of the platform. It concentrates on what matters to the people in front of it. Showing users how SharePoint connects to the tasks they already carry out each day is far more effective than presenting a full list of features. When the best SharePoint training mirrors people’s actual work, adoption naturally improves, and digital workplace projects are so much more likely to succeed.

Investment in Microsoft SharePoint as part of digital workplace planning is growing across a wide range of organisations. Technology alone, however, does not guarantee results. Encouraging consistent use is harder than it might appear, and it becomes harder still when users are uncertain what the platform is designed to do or how it is meant to help them.

The pattern that emerges across the industry points clearly in one direction. Training that moves away from generic demonstrations and towards role-specific, practical content produces better outcomes. People engage more readily when the content speaks to their actual day-to-day work. Training that treats SharePoint as a uniform tool for all users, regardless of what those users actually do, tends to fall short.

So, what do the best SharePoint training programmes have in common? 

• Clear relevance: They link SharePoint features directly to the tasks people do every day. 
• Hands-on learning: Sessions use familiar content and real business examples, so it all feels meaningful. 
• Progressive delivery: Instead of just one-off sessions, training is spread out, allowing people to build their skills over time. 
• User confidence as a goal: The aim isn’t just to show off features. It’s about making sure users feel comfortable and capable. 

When organisations take this approach, they often notice better collaboration, less dependence on email and shared drives, and more consistent information management across teams. 

Take Adepteq, for example. They’re a Microsoft Solutions Partner based in the UK. They work closely with organisations to support structured SharePoint adoption and help users get the most out of the platform. By focusing on real-life usage, they turn SharePoint from just another tool into something staff genuinely rely on every day. 

As Phil Cave, Adepteq’s Digital Transformation Director, puts it: “Training works best when users understand how SharePoint helps them do their job better, not when they’re simply shown what the platform can do. That shift in focus makes a measurable difference to adoption and long-term value.” 

With digital workplace platforms constantly evolving, the organisations that treat training as an ongoing journey are the ones who truly unlock the full benefits of their Microsoft 365 investment. 

About Adepteq

Adepteq is a UK‑based Microsoft Solutions Partner specialising in SharePoint, Microsoft 365, and digital workplace enablement with a strong presence in London and the Southeast, Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Manchester, Plymouth, and Portsmouth. With over 1,000 successful migrations, Adepteq supports organisations with strategy, implementation, and user adoption to help technology deliver meaningful business outcomes. 

One of the UK’s leading cosmetic surgery providers, Signature Clinic, has announced the arrival of three new members of its senior leadership team as part of a broader effort to extend its national presence and deepen the expertise at the heart of its clinical, operational and commercial functions.

Joining the organisation are Mr Mabroor Bhatty in the role of Clinical Director, Tracey McAleney as Chief Operating Officer and Sarah Hill as Head of Sales.

The decision to bring in senior expertise across all three areas of the business underlines Signature Clinic’s determination to sustain the quality of patient care and clinical standards that have defined its reputation, whilst creating the leadership foundations necessary to support growth across its clinics in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, Cardiff, London and Dublin.

Dr Sayani Sainudeen, Founder, Signature Clinic said: “These appointments mark an exciting milestone for Signature Clinic as we continue to scale our business across the UK and Ireland. Mr Bhatty’s clinical expertise and commitment to excellence strengthen our medical leadership, while Tracey brings the operational rigour required to support sustainable growth. Sarah’s appointment further enhances our commercial capability, ensuring we continue to deliver strong patient acquisition strategies and outstanding patient experiences. Together, this leadership team positions us strongly for the next phase of growth.”

Appointed as Clinical Director, Mr Mabroor Bhatty brings with him an exceptional depth of knowledge and experience in plastic and cosmetic surgery built over many decades. He completed his undergraduate medical training at Karachi University before coming to the United Kingdom to undertake postgraduate training in plastic surgery, qualifying with his FRCS from the Royal College of Surgeons in 1992. His formative years as a surgeon were spent in significant NHS institutions, working within training programmes run by the Royal College of Surgeons and the British Association of Plastic Surgeons, before he established himself as a full-time consultant. Since 2010, his clinical work has been focused exclusively on cosmetic surgery, most notably in the areas of facial procedures and complex body contouring for patients following major weight loss. He remains a prominent contributor to medical discourse internationally, giving lectures and publishing research in his specialist fields, and he continues to provide his expertise to reconstructive surgery projects serving disadvantaged communities overseas.

Tracey McAleney steps into the Chief Operating Officer role with a wealth of leadership experience drawn from careers in private healthcare, aesthetic medicine and large-scale retail settings. Her remit will encompass operational strategy, the optimisation of performance across the business and the management of organisational growth across multiple clinic sites, with a sustained focus on patient experience, operational standards and the governance frameworks essential to a regulated healthcare environment.

Appointed Head of Sales, Sarah Hill joins with in excess of 15 years spent working in private healthcare, refractive surgery and commercial leadership positions spanning multiple sites. She will assume responsibility for the clinic’s national sales approach, the performance of patient acquisition activity and the delivery of commercial growth across the network. Her work will centre on establishing and developing high-performing sales functions, building patient acquisition strategies capable of scaling alongside the business and driving consistent revenue growth within the parameters of a regulated sector. Her professional history reflects a sustained track record of managing large teams, implementing performance management systems and ensuring that sales, marketing, operational and patient service functions work in close alignment to achieve measurable outcomes.

Across all of its locations, Signature Clinic continues to offer patients access to a wide range of surgical and non-surgical procedures, including facelifts, blepharoplasty, gynaecomastia surgery, VASER liposuction, labiaplasty, anti-wrinkle injections, lip fillers, dermal enhancements and a variety of advanced skin treatments.

“New skills-first platform lets employers see candidate work before CVs, using behavioural engagement signals to surface genuine effort”

FirstLook, a newly launched hiring platform, has entered the market with a direct response to the escalating problem of AI-generated job applications overwhelming employer recruitment inboxes. The platform asks candidates to complete a brief skills assessment before their CV is made visible to any employer, and tracks a set of behavioural signals throughout the process to generate an individual authenticity score for every submission received.

The scale of the problem the platform has been built to address is considerable. According to Ashby’s 2025 Talent Trends Report, the number of applications received per hire has nearly tripled since 2021, whilst research published by Greenhouse in November 2025 found that 75% of job seekers are now using AI tools to produce their applications. The consequence is that recruiters are spending an average of 23 hours screening candidates for each hire, frequently finding it impossible to separate those who have applied with genuine intent from those submitting AI-generated content at scale.

FirstLook’s model turns the conventional hiring process on its head. Rather than beginning with a review of CVs and moving to skills tests later, employers using the platform start by creating a single assessment question that every candidate must answer before anything else is considered. As the candidate works through the assessment, FirstLook captures behavioural engagement signals and converts these into a process score that reflects how the work was approached and completed, rather than what was ultimately submitted. Candidates are then ordered by their level of engagement, allowing recruiters to focus their attention on those who have demonstrated genuine effort and investment in the process. The judgement of the actual quality of a candidate’s work remains entirely in human hands.

“We hire people regularly, and what we’re seeing more and more is hundreds of CVs landing in the inbox, all sounding the same,” said Alex Cohen, co-founder of FirstLook. “It’s clear people are going straight to AI tools and sending in whatever it produces. That makes it incredibly hard for recruiters to see who’s good and who isn’t and it’s not fair to the candidates who put genuine effort in either.”

“Our scoring doesn’t try to judge the quality of someone’s answer. It measures whether a real person sat down and did the work,” said Christian Jones, co-founder of FirstLook. “If you spent fifteen minutes thinking and typing and editing, that shows up. If you pasted in an AI response in ninety seconds, that shows up too. It gives candidates who take the time a genuine advantage, which is how hiring should work.”

FirstLook sets itself apart from the assessment tools already available on the market in one fundamental way: it does not deploy AI to evaluate or rank the quality of candidate responses. Every submission made through the platform is stored in full and remains reviewable by the employer at any point. No candidate is ruled out automatically without a human first making that determination. Candidates are made aware that behavioural data is being collected during the assessment process. Scores are intended solely to help employers organise and prioritise their review queue, no candidate is automatically rejected on the basis of a score, and applicants are never shown their own scores at any stage.

The platform is launching with two assessment formats available from the outset, a written response option and a code challenge, with audio and video assessment formats planned for release in due course.

In terms of pricing, FirstLook offers a free tier covering one active role at no cost. For those requiring more, a pay-per-role option is available at £49, a Starter plan providing five active roles is priced at £79 per month, and a Professional plan covering 20 active roles is available at £199 per month. Every plan, regardless of price, includes access to the platform’s complete feature set with no restrictions applied.

A mother of two from Merseyside who overcame breast cancer last year after choosing alternative therapies in place of chemotherapy is channelling her renewed sense of purpose into an ambitious plan to grow her wellbeing organisation, The Happiness Club, to 60 UK franchisees within the next 18 months.

Jo Robinson-Howarth, 54, is building on her existing network of 11 franchise partners with the goal of reaching 60 sites across the UK before turning her attention to international expansion, a growth plan that speaks both to the rising demand for accessible mental and emotional health support in schools and workplaces and to the proven strength of a business model founded on genuine, measurable impact.

A qualified hypnotherapist and mindfulness practitioner, Jo received a diagnosis of early-stage HER2+ breast cancer in July 2025. She has spent more than a decade studying and working across the disciplines of neuroscience, hypnotherapy and mindfulness. Choosing to decline chemotherapy, she instead committed to an intensive course of alternative therapies, making significant changes to her nutrition and ultimately undergoing surgery under local anaesthetic, having made the decision to forgo a general anaesthetic entirely.

The Happiness Club already has franchisees working across a wide spread of the country, from Sussex to Scotland and Shropshire to the South East of England, with many other regions represented in between. The network is run by local women who chose to leave behind corporate careers in search of something more meaningful. Among them are practitioners who have incorporated Jo’s methodologies into their existing work, women in midlife who faced redundancy and took the opportunity to step into entrepreneurship, and former members of The Happiness Club who experienced the benefit of its tools in their own lives and decided they wanted to extend that impact to others.

Practitioners deliver The Happiness Club’s mindfulness-based resilience programmes to businesses and its CPD-accredited emotional management curriculum to primary and secondary schools.

The timing of this expansion is significant. The UK reached three million working days lost to mental ill-health by 19th February 2026, just 50 days into the year, according to figures published by the Health and Safety Executive. Data from the CIPD identifies mental ill-health as the leading cause of long-term workplace absence, accounting for 41% of cases, as well as a key driver of short-term absence at 29%. Separately, new NHS data drawn from the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey shows that 22.6% of adults aged 16 to 64 are now living with a common mental health condition such as anxiety or depression, up from 17.6% in 2007, a rise that the Mental Health Foundation has described as requiring urgent action.

“Stress and anxiety aren’t character flaws, they are learned programmes. And if they can be learned, they can be unlearned. That’s the foundation of everything we do, and the reason our franchise model works: because it’s built on tools that genuinely change people’s lives,” said Jo.

Each person who joins the franchise is trained to deliver two core programmes. The first is The Schools Programme, a four-week CPD-accredited curriculum that teaches 12 mindfulness techniques to entire primary schools, equipping children with the emotional skills they need to build resilience that will serve them throughout their lives. “With one in four young people now experiencing a common mental health condition, a 47% increase since 2007, early intervention has never been more critical,” Jo said.

The second is a suite of Business Workshops, developed in response to the growing evidence of poor mental wellbeing in the workplace, which costs UK employers an estimated £42 to £45 billion annually through presenteeism, sickness absence and staff turnover, according to the Mental Health Foundation. These workshops bring mindfulness and resilience training directly to corporate clients, offering practical, evidence-informed responses to the widely documented crisis of workplace stress and burnout.

Running through everything The Happiness Club does is a deliberate challenge to the norms of the wellness industry as it has traditionally operated. Jo is an outspoken critic of what she refers to as high vibes culture, the kind of performative positivity that encourages people to suppress difficult emotions rather than work through them.

“Real happiness is the ability to be fully present to all of life, the difficult and the joyful, the messy and the beautiful,” added Jo. “The willingness to feel everything, rather than chase only the approved emotions. That’s what we teach, and it’s why it works.

“If the daily habits of mental and emotional self-care can be taught early, the downstream impact on stress, anxiety and resilience across a lifetime is profound. This is prevention, not just treatment.”

Those interested in joining the franchise network can find further information at thehappinessclub.co.uk/franchise.

Lindi Reynolds, founder of the award-winning luxury interior design studio Lindi Reynolds & Co, has been appointed to sit on the judging panel for the British Institute of Interior Design Student Drawing Competition 2026, a highly regarded annual event that exists to shine a light on the next wave of creative talent emerging from interior design education across the UK.

The competition has earned a strong reputation for the platform it provides to students wishing to showcase the depth of their technical and creative drawing skills, connecting emerging designers with experienced professionals who can offer both recognition and invaluable feedback at a formative stage in their careers.

In her capacity as a judge, Lindi Reynolds will assess each entry against a set of criteria encompassing creativity, originality, technical skill and the clarity with which the entrant has communicated their design concept. The panel will convene in London on 10th June 2026, and the name of the winner will be made public on 25th June.

Reynolds arrives on the panel with a career of more than 20 years behind her and a professional background that weaves together fine art, architecture and brand design into a perspective that is both wide-ranging and distinctively her own. Prior to founding Lindi Reynolds & Co, she occupied a senior position within the WPP Fitch Communications Network, gaining deep experience of working with global brands and developing a sophisticated understanding of visual identity and the communication of design intent. She is additionally the founder of The Artists Appreciation Initiative, a platform dedicated to nurturing and supporting emerging British artists.

Her appointment to the panel is a natural reflection of the standing she has built within the interior design profession and of the consistent commitment she has shown to supporting those who are at the beginning of their journeys within the industry.

Commenting on her role in the panel, Reynolds said: “I am truly honoured to be invited to judge the BIID Young Artists Drawing Competition later this year. Drawing is where everything begins — it is the most honest and immediate expression of creative thinking, and there is something deeply exciting about witnessing fresh talent in its early stages. As someone who has spent a career championing the role of art and creativity within design, this feels like a privilege and a responsibility I will relish in equal measure. I cannot wait to see what the next generation has to offer.”

Reynolds also dedicates time to projects that give something back to the communities around her, including planned charitable work alongside the Royal Brompton and Harefield hospitals, activity that sits alongside but extends well beyond the remit of her own studio practice.

Entries for the BIID Student Drawing Competition 2026 opened on 12th March and will be accepted until 14th May. Those entries that make the shortlist will go before the judging panel for consideration in June.