Pure Retirement’s Paul Carter Prepares to Transition to Become Lender’s Chair

05 March 2026

Pure Retirement CEO and later life lending stalwart Paul Carter is preparing to transition to a new role as the lender’s Chair, beginning a pathway to retirement while also continuing to provide strategic oversight and guidance as Pure enters its next phase of development and growth.

It marks the latest chapter of a lengthy and remarkable career in the sector, including playing a pivotal role in the establishment of the equity release arm of Norwich Union (now Aviva), where he built the division up to 130 people within a year before pivoting to onboarding independent financial advisers as the firm moved direct‑to‑consumer.

Additional highlights include a stint at Prudential’s equity release arm, where he grew the firm’s market share from 7% to 27% in a year – furthermore, it put him into the orbit of Andrew Thirkill, who’d subsequently approach Carter in 2013 to create and head up Pure Retirement.

Building a lifetime mortgage specialist

Under Carter’s stint at the helm, Pure Retirement has since grown to be one of the leading lenders in the space, and can currently boast a loan book totalling £6bn of managed assets and 80,000 customers supported – in part due to its position as the market’s loan servicer of choice, handling a number of substantial back books.

Despite challenging market conditions in 2025, Pure Retirement nonetheless improved on the previous year’s performance and increased its market share.

Pure’s next chapter

Pure’s current longtime Chief Operating Officer Simon Hayton will take over as Managing Director from April, ensuring a clear and planned succession, and a seamless leadership transition.

Carter, meanwhile, won’t completely exit the business and will remain on hand to support with strategic oversight and guidance. Andrew Thirkill, meanwhile, will pivot from being the lender’s current Chair to being its Senior NED, while also transitioning to a broader group Chair remit.

Speaking of these changes and his evolving role, Paul Carter says:

“While I undoubtedly remain as passionate about Pure and the wider market as ever, the time is undoubtedly right for a change of role for me, and for a change of leadership for the business. I’ll transition to my new role able to look over the current state of Pure with my head held high, and with unbridled confidence in the leadership team that will continue to head up the company.

In Simon, we’re lucky to have someone with a wealth of expertise in the operational side of the business, ensuring that advisers and clients alike will continue to benefit from market-leading service and a carefully considered end-to-end journey, with effective processes in place throughout.

I’m excited for the next chapter for later life lending in general, and Pure specifically, and look forward to remaining on hand to sharing my insight to help both grow as needed.”

Andrew Thirkill adds:

“These changes reflect a planned evolution of our governance as Pure continues to scale and remain a renowned lifetime mortgage specialist in a sector that is meeting a real societal need for Britain’s over-55s and their families. I’m delighted that Paul will take on the Chair role and that Simon will lead the business day-to-day as Managing Director, and I will remain closely involved in a senior non-executive capacity, supporting the Board and leadership team. This ensures a continued broad and knowledgeable oversight at the forefront of Pure Retirement as we remain committed to delivering strong outcomes for customers and advisers.