About Us
Collar Mortgage Services was created by Catherine in 2019 after 15 years working in the mortgage industry. It has gone on to become a formidable mortgage services business, not only because of Catherine’s own extensive experience in both mortgage advice and compliance, but because of her personalised and holistic outlook on the mortgage process.
Collar Mortgage Services was created by Catherine in 2019 after 15 years working in the mortgage industry. It has gone on to become a formidable mortgage services business, not only because of Catherine’s own extensive experience in both mortgage advice and compliance, but because of her personalised and holistic outlook on the mortgage process.
The business is part of the Quilter Financial Planning network. Quilter gives the team the support they need, the compliance required and access to the whole of the mortgage market which is key for their clients. With access to the whole market, they can truly get the most suitable deal for their clients, whether they have bought before or are on the first rung of the property ladder.
In early 2025, Catherine was delighted to join forces with Curtis Lam of Gold Key Mortgages to enable expansion of the company’s offering. Curtis can also offer whole of market mortgage and protection advice and having him work within the business, has enabled Catherine to broaden her services by adding equity release advice to her portfolio.
Collar Mortgage Services prides itself on working with clients in a supportive, personal way, providing a seamless, end to end service for all of their mortgage-related financial requirements.
CATHERINE COLLAR Mortgage, Protection and Equity Release
In 2003, after a period working in the hotel industry, Catherine decided on a change of path and pursued a career as an estate agent, joining Your Move. Although she was happy as an agent, she was approached by the company’s resident mortgage adviser, who saw something in her and suggested she should consider becoming an adviser herself. The rest, as they say, is history.
She took her qualifications and got her first role as an in-house adviser in 2004 working for Connells estate agents. Catherine thrived there, developing her skills and gaining essential experience. However, after five years, she was approached by Halifax and was offered a role as a Financial Adviser, which she felt would be great for her career progression. Halifax put her through all the relevant qualifications, however, she really missed mortgages and the draw of the property market became too strong. So, she applied for a mortgage adviser’s role at Barclays and in 2010 and joined them.
In 2012, a role became available within Barclays’ compliance department, overseeing other mortgage advisers and ensuring that they were fully compliant with both FCA and the bank’s own rules and regulations. They were thought of as the MI5 security service for mortgage advisers and it gave Catherine extra skills and knowledge to understand the importance of compliance. It offers safety for both adviser and, more importantly, the client.
After nine happy years at Barclays, Catherine decided a change was needed, not least because of her growing family. She needed to make sure she could balance the demands of work as well as the demands of her two young children. So, Collar Mortgage Services was born in 2019 and she is very happy that her mortgage adviser experience, along with her work in compliance and of course her days as an estate agent, has led to her running her own business and having the confidence to do so. She is particularly delighted that the business has grown so much that she has now brought Curtis in to work alongside her.
Catherine lives in Gloucestershire with her husband, two children and a very active and time-consuming young dog!
CURTIS LAM, Mortgage and Protection
Curtis started his career working in corporate finance, developing a keen interest and talent in credit control. He spent over five years at Inmarsat, the British satellite telecoms company, working his way up to become the Credit Operations Manager. He then moved to Sony Europe where he took on the same role in a maternity cover contract, improving and automating processes within credit and finance. During both of these corporate roles, Curtis realised that his working style was very much based around being a problem solver. He has an acute strength in analytics and process improvement. Using these skills in order to solve problems was core to his working success.
However, in 2023 at the end of the Sony contract, Curtis felt it was time for a change from the corporate world. He had a desire to work for himself and in the post-Covid environment, he felt there was an opportunity to embark upon a new adventure. He obviously had key experience within finance but had always been interested in the property market and so he decided to make a big change and train to become a qualified mortgage advisor.
In 2024, Curtis qualified with a CeMAP (Certificate in Mortgage Advice and Practice) from the London Institute of Banking and Finance, moved from Hertfordshire to Bourton on the Water in Gloucestershire and set up Gold Key Mortgages to become a whole of market mortgage and protection adviser.
Curtis was also part of Quilter Financial Planning network and it was through Quilter that Curtis was introduced to Catherine. Curtis is thrilled that although he operates independently, he has now joined forces with Catherine and trades as Collar Mortgage Services.
Curtis lives in Bourton on the Water with his wife. He loves rock climbing, travelling and is a passionate foodie!
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I can offer you a wide range of mortgage solutions. As a trustworthy, reliable and passionate mortgage adviser, I simply love helping my clients achieve their dreams.