New Leaf Recruitment Process – Which Network Should I join?
Join New Leaf – the family business that has YOU at the centre of everything.
What's On This Page?
Get In Touch
Tell us about New Leaf Distribution, and how you fit into the mix?
New Leaf is around 25 years old, but a lot of people have only recently heard of us. We often come across as a new network because of that, but in fact we’re one of the oldest.
We’re a family business and privately-owned, with no major shareholders or institutional investors. It’s very much family-led and flexible. We can do things when we want to, we can try things out, and offer lots of different permissions to advisors that they may not get elsewhere. That’s always worked really well for us.
We’re ‘the network that knows your name.’ Part of our culture is to really get to know people who work with us and make sure they feel valued.
Why was New Leaf Distribution set up? What sets you apart from other networks?
We get on well with the other networks, and everyone’s got their own space. We set up initially as a brokerage, and then moved into the network space and started taking on Appointed Representative (AR) firms.
These are firms that have their own brand and Financial Conduct Authority registrations and directors, but they use our services to regulate and authorise them. We’re there to make sure they’re backed up and supported.
It started off building up organically, and over the years that hasn’t really changed. We’ve grown slowly and we’ve now got a good number of people with us. Some firms have been with us for 20 years.
Over the last decade we’ve moved more into the wealth side of the space, working with IFAs (Independent Financial Advisers) and getting more into financial advice. But that doesn’t detract from the mortgage side, which is still a major part of the business.
It just means that advisors have a lot of choice with us around what they want to do. They have a whole remit of permissions at their fingertips.
Why would someone want to join New Leaf?
Often because they want to access different areas that they can’t get in their current network, or they’re in a Directly Authorised (DA) business and they’re a bit restricted.
We get a lot of mortgage advisors that want to get into wealth – and not many networks do both. We’re also set up for commercial mortgages and specialist mortgages, and have direct access to pretty much every lender out there.
Last year, we used 170 lenders, so the choice you have as an advisor with New Leaf is huge. That’s a big draw as well. People also buy into the culture we have here as a family business.
We’re welcoming and trustworthy – and interestingly we find that a lot of women join us, which is great. We have a higher ratio of women than you’d normally see in this industry. It’s a strong culture – we’ve built a community rather than a network. It feels like a community of entrepreneurs.
How would someone switch networks? What’s the process?
The first thing is to have a chat. Just use the contact form on our website and we’ll get in touch with you – we like to talk to everybody and ideally see people face-to-face.
We’ll have a chat, and if someone’s worried about being tied in and what the contract is like, we can go through those things. We give you advice on what it all means. We’ve dealt with a lot of people switching networks and we know that it can sometimes be a bit painful. We’re quite experienced with this and we try to make it as smooth as possible.
So let’s start with a chat – we can assess and plan. We project-manage the switchover to minimise issues and avoid downtime as best as we can. You’ll also be talking to the directors – we don’t have recruitment people or business development managers to deal with.
You’ll be talking to myself or Mark, my dad – the people that actually make decisions in the network. We aren’t working to get a recruitment bonus like people in other networks, so we’re purely here to give advice and help you, even if you ultimately decide not to join us.
Once with New Leaf, do you provide training and leads?
There’s a typical onboarding process which is pretty standard, and then there are lots of ongoing sessions. We run plenty of events and webinars – there’s something on every day of the week. There’s no shortage of education for you.
The great thing is that everything’s recorded and available in the app. Our advisors use it to listen to podcasts on their daily walks and talk to other members of the community. It builds a real community.
Being an advisor can be a bit lonely, especially if you’re new to it, or you’re becoming an AR for the first time. It’s nice to talk to people who’ve done it before – and they’re usually very happy to help.
Speak To an Expert
Does an advisor need to be experienced to join you or can they be brand new to the industry?
Yes, we take on experienced advisors all the time, but we have an entry pathway for new advisors as well.
As the name suggests, New Leaf was really focused on helping new advisors when we started. We help people turn over a new leaf all the time – as a career change, whether you’ve been made redundant and want to do something different, or build something for yourself.
It could equally be someone at a younger age, who’s just getting into the industry and wants to know whether they can do this, and what happens after CeMAP. We go through the academy process with them.
We’re absolutely open to any experience level and we have a pathway for everyone – as an AR, in the academy, or joining a firm with us.
How and where can people find out more?
We’re on LinkedIn, and we’re probably more active there than any other platform. Just search for the company name and you’ll see we post there quite regularly. You can also follow our directors as well – I’m Daniel Hobbs and together with my dad Mark Hobbs, we post a lot about the business. Follow us, connect with us and message – that’s all fine.
We’re on Instagram but less goes on there, and we haven’t used TikTok yet. The website, of course, is an important tool as well. That will have a lot of information for you.
The process to join us starts with that initial phone call, and then we do like to meet everyone face-to-face. Sometimes that could take a bit of time to arrange, but we want to do it properly and make sure it’s the right thing for you.
Once we meet and get under the bonnet of what your firm looks like and what you want to achieve – your goals and ambitions – it often feels like a really good coaching session. It helps you think about your business plan and your future.
Do you provide support on the digital side of advising?
We have a very wide spectrum of different advisors and how they do business with clients.
Some still take a more manual process that works for them – they’re doing well and clients are getting good outcomes. There’s nothing wrong with that.
Likewise, we’ve got people who are into AI and building tech platforms – we’re happy to work with everyone. Our systems are quite flexible and you can work with them both ways. We’re not prescribing a certain method.
If you are interested in tech, we’re here for you. If you’re not, don’t worry – that’s not a big deal at all. We’ll definitely help you get up to speed on systems as needed.
We’ve covered a lot – is there anything else you’d like to add?
New Leaf is here for you if you’re really thinking about the diversification of your business, now or in the future. You might just want to be a mortgage advisor at the moment, but perhaps want the IFA pathway to be open to you in the future.
It’s important to be in the right place from the start. You don’t want to be locked in somewhere where you can’t do that. Moving around and transitioning your business is much easier if you have the right network in the first place. Once you’re ready to diversify you can do it quickly with us. That’s a big plus.
We’re currently working on a new project for lead generation. It’s quite exciting, and is based on a survey platform. We send out surveys to customers that link back to a public profile, and those profiles are searchable.
We’re putting some investment into it, and we’re confident that a lot of people will search through these advisors and come across those that are with us. They’ll read reviews to give each advisor credibility.
That’s coming soon and it’s really cool. It gives added value for the advisors as they won’t pay for that. We’ll set it up for them and they’ll benefit from that over time as it develops.
We’re always trying to push the boundaries and make a difference. It’s not just about being a compliance network – we want to help our advisors grow.
Key Takeaways:
- New Leaf is an established, flexible, privately-owned family business that prioritises knowing and valuing its advisors.
- They offer a broad range of permissions, enabling advisors to access areas like wealth and IFA services in addition to mortgages, and provide huge choice by working with approximately 170 lenders.
- The company fosters a strong, supportive culture described as a community of entrepreneurs, notable for its higher ratio of women advisors compared to the industry norm.
- The network-switching process is project-managed for smoothness and involves speaking directly with the directors, Daniel and Mark Hobbs, who offer unbiased advice as they do not work on recruitment bonuses.
- New Leaf has pathways for all experience levels, including an academy for new advisors, and supports ongoing growth through daily educational content, community interaction via an app, and a new, free lead generation project based on a searchable survey platform.
[Information correct at the time of recording in May 2026].