Portman looks for first marketing director
The Portman, the UK’s fourth-largest building society, is looking for a marketing director to head a 30-strong team and develop future strategy.
The appointment coincides with moves by the mutual to improve its position in the UK mortgages and savings market. The role is a new one, created after a corporate restructure. The marketing director will report to the group development director and be a member of the Portman’s executive committee.
A year ago, the Portman moved its head office staff from six locations to a purpose-built office outside Bournemouth. A spokeswoman says: “There was a decision to bring all marketing functions under one umbrella and strengthen the senior management by the addition of a marketing director.”
The Portman currently uses Marketing Matters for its advertising, but Nielsen Media Research records no spend for the brand in the past year.
Late last year, the society acquired specialist mortgage company Sun Bank from Sun Life of Canada. In July, the Portman announced a 50 per cent increase in new mortgage lending to a record &£1.4bn, giving it a 1.95 per cent share of the whole mortgage-lending market. Consumer savings with the society topped &£7bn for the first time. Pre-tax profits for the half-year to the end of June were &£31.2m, down slightly from the previous year’s &£31.5m.
