Newcastle for Intermediaries launches new podcast series to spark industry conversations

06 October 2026

Powered by Partnership podcast brings together leading voices from across the mortgage market to explore the issues shaping brokers and their clients

Newcastle for Intermediaries has launched a new podcast series, Powered by Partnership, bringing together brokers and industry experts for open and practical discussions on the topics shaping today's mortgage market.

The six-part series, hosted by the lender’s head of intermediary mortgages, Francesco Di Pietro, has been created specifically for mortgage intermediaries and will explore a range of issues impacting brokers and their clients, from first-time buyer accessibility and affordability to self-employed lending, new-build mortgages and complex cases.

New episodes will be released weekly and feature a range of respected industry guests, including representatives from the Building Societies Association, Mortgage Advice Bureau, Legal & General, SimplyBiz, Mortgage Brain and leading broker firms from across the UK.

The podcast is designed to provide brokers with practical insight, fresh perspectives and expert commentary on the challenges and opportunities emerging across the mortgage landscape.

Francesco Di Pietro, head of intermediary mortgages at Newcastle Building Society, said:

"At Newcastle for Intermediaries, partnership sits at the heart of everything we do. We work closely with brokers every day and understand the importance of sharing knowledge, listening to different perspectives and having honest conversations about the issues affecting our market.

"Powered by Partnership has been created to bring those conversations to life. By bringing together experts from across the industry, we're creating a platform that explores the topics brokers are talking about right now, while helping them better support their clients.

"Whether it's navigating affordability challenges, supporting first-time buyers or understanding changing borrower needs, we hope the series provides valuable insight and reinforces the important role brokers play in delivering good customer outcomes."

The first episode focuses on the first-time buyer market and features Paul Broadhead, Head of Mortgage and Housing Policy at the Building Societies Association, alongside Ben Riley, Director at First Mortgage. The discussion explores affordability pressures, awareness of homeownership options and the critical role brokers play in helping aspiring homeowners navigate the housing market.

Future episodes will examine evolving approaches to affordability, the opportunities and challenges associated with self-employed borrowers, developments in new-build lending, and what the future may hold for the intermediary sector ahead of the Autumn Budget.

The Powered by Partnership podcast is available through the Newcastle for Intermediaries Partnership Hub, as well as on YouTube and Spotify