In this edition of in the spotlight, we’re shining a light on Dan Broadhurst, Commercial Director, and the experience he brings from across banking and fintech. From building trusted lender partnerships to navigating a fast-changing market, Dan shares his perspective on what really matters and where he sees the biggest opportunities ahead.
What experiences shaped your path into fintech before joining Finova?
Before moving into fintech, I spent close to a decade working within tier-one banks on the lending side. That time gave me a very practical understanding of how lenders operate, the pressures they face, the complexity of their environments and just how important it is to get decisions right. I also worked closely with a range of technology providers, supporting everything from early-stage challengers to established high street brands. Seeing lending from both sides, inside banks and alongside fintech partners, shaped how I think about technology today. At its best, it should remove friction, support better decisions and help lenders deliver stronger outcomes for borrowers.
What drew you to Finova and the Commercial Director role?
Finova already has a strong position in the market. Our technology supports one in five mortgage originations in the UK and works with more than 60 lenders. That scale and credibility really matter. What attracted me was the opportunity to build on that foundation. The market is evolving quickly, and lenders are under more pressure than ever from regulation, cost and changing customer expectations. My role is about making sure Finova stays closely aligned to those needs and is set up for long-term, sustainable growth alongside our customers.
How do you approach building long-term partnerships with lenders?
For me, strong partnerships start with listening. It’s easy for technology companies to assume they know what the market needs, but assumptions rarely stand up in reality. At Finova, we spend time understanding the challenges lenders are facing today, not just what might matter in the future. That insight shapes how we develop our solutions and how we support customers day to day. When technology is built around real needs rather than theory, it creates partnerships that deliver value for everyone involved.
What do you see as the biggest barrier to progress across financial services?
Data is still the biggest challenge. Many financial institutions are dealing with fragmented and inconsistent data spread across multiple systems built up over many years. Without strong data foundations, everything slows down. Decision-making takes longer, innovation becomes harder and customer experiences suffer. You can have advanced technology on top, but if the underlying data isn’t structured or accessible, its impact will always be limited. Getting the basics right is where meaningful progress really begins.
AI is a big topic right now. Where do you see real, practical value?
There’s no doubt AI is attracting a lot of attention, and understandably so. Where it’s already proving valuable is in areas like document processing, data extraction and pattern recognition. These tools can remove a huge amount of manual effort and speed up decisions. But AI is only as effective as the data behind it. Without clean, reliable data, even the smartest tools won’t deliver good outcomes. From a borrower’s perspective, the technology itself doesn’t matter. What matters is getting faster answers and a smoother experience.
Where could technology make the most impact beyond core mortgage lending?
In specialist finance, speed and coordination are critical. Right now, the same information is often entered multiple times by different parties, which creates unnecessary friction and delays. The biggest opportunity lies in better-connected platforms where data is captured once and securely shared between authorised stakeholders, whether that’s brokers, lenders, valuers or solicitors. That level of connectivity can significantly reduce delays and help transactions move at the pace the market expects.
Looking ahead, what does success look like for lenders over the next few years?
We’re moving towards a more personalised approach to lending. Technology now makes it possible to move beyond broad customer categories and treat each borrower as an individual. When lenders can tailor pricing, products and journeys to reflect real circumstances at scale, it benefits everyone. Borrowers receive fairer, more relevant outcomes, and lenders can manage risk more intelligently. That’s where I see the industry heading, and it’s an exciting place to be.
At Finova, progress in lending comes from combining smart technology with real-world insight. Drawing on his background across banking and fintech, Dan works closely with lenders to help them overcome operational challenges, adapt to changing demands and deliver better outcomes for borrowers.
If you’re ready to move faster, connect your data and build journeys that scale, we’d love to start the conversation.
