All the latest innovations brought together in a regular round-up of news, updates and upgrades for conveyancing firms.
CoPSO Welcomes New Affiliate Member and Search Code Subscriber, Property Conveyancing Searches
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) has announced Property Conveyancing Searches as its newest Affiliate Member and subscriber to the Search Code. Property Conveyancing Searches’ founder Jonathan Stebbings said: “I am pleased to become an Affiliate Member of CoPSO and a subscriber to the Search Code. The work undertaken by CoPSO to promote standards and best practice within the property search sector is invaluable, and I look forward to contributing to the organisation and supporting its ongoing commitment to consumers and industry professionals alike.”
Allison Bradbury, CoPSO Chair, added: “We are delighted to welcome Property Conveyancing Searches as both an Affiliate Member of CoPSO and a subscriber to the Search Code. Jonathan brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to our network, and we look forward to benefiting from his insights and contributions. His commitment to professional standards and consumer protection aligns perfectly with CoPSO’s values and objectives.”
CoPSO recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of its quality standards for organisations providing property search reports, the Search Code, saying it had a “significant contribution” to raising standards and protecting consumers.
Former LMS CEO Nick Chadbourne has joined Novus Strategy as on-executive chair. As a transformation consultancy for the mortgage and home buying industry, Novus has had a long-standing association with Chadbourne, who led the conveyancing service provider since 2017 and announced his departure in June.
Chadbourne was a founding board member of the Open Property Data Association (OPDA), and has also recently been appointed Chair of the Conveyancing Association. Commenting on his appointment Chadbourne, said: “Novus pairs deep industry and subject matter expertise with a unique way to test change before committing to it. That gives lenders and enterprise businesses the tools to prioritise and then deliver successful change with maximum impact.
“The end result is transformation where success is baked in, which is a departure from what I saw earlier in my career when many well-intentioned change programmes lost their way.
“With significant reform facing our industry over the coming years, Novus is the perfect partner to support it and I’m thrilled to be joining as Chair.”
LMS announces Ian Robinson as permanent Chief Executive Officer
Meanwhile, Chadbourne’s former employer LMS has confirmed Ian Robinson will take permanent charge of the organisation after a short stint as interim CEO. Formerly chief operating officer, Robinson is LMS’s longest serving director, having joined the business in 2006 from Santander (formerly Abbey National). In his previous role, he was responsible for the recruitment, management, and operational delivery of law firms, and led the team that manages general conveyancing, supporting 50-plus lenders and working across the industry to improve how they interact with law firms.
Nick Hale, chief executive of Movera and LMS shareholder, said the decision to appoint Ian was unanimous: “Ian was the standout candidate following a thorough selection process, including an extensive external search. He has served LMS brilliantly for the past 20 years and since stepping up as interim CEO, he has demonstrated strong leadership, ensuring the business continues to deliver great outcomes for its partners and customers, and with a clear vision for the future.”
Thanking the board and the LMS team for their support over the past few months, Robinson said he was looking forward to leading the business forward: “While my role is now permanent, our focus at LMS remains the same. We have a solid business, a clear direction and plenty of opportunity ahead of us. We continue to make strong progress with Panel Link, Remortgage, Select, and Confirmly, which are all designed to make the home-buying and selling journey more secure and faster. NPTN, the National Property Transaction Network, is delivering a step-change in how property transactions are conducted in the UK across all stakeholders.
“I look forward to continuing to work with colleagues across LMS as we build on the progress we’ve made and support our customers and partners.”
Armalytix appoints head of legal and compliance
AML intelligence firm Armalytix has appointed Arvin Razon as its first dedicated head of legal and compliance. Commenting on the appointment Razon said: “Armalytix is at an increasingly important intersection of Open Banking, identity and financial crime prevention, as the property sector moves to modernise risk verification.
“I’m looking forward to building on the strong compliance foundations already in place at Armalytix, and sharing our expertise and experience in shaping how Open Banking and digital identity are further developed and standardised in regulatory, policy and industry conversations across the conveyancing, lending and estate agency sectors in the years ahead.”
Arvin’s arrival gives Armalytix a senior, dedicated voice on regulation and risk, freeing the business to move faster for clients while deepening the trust conveyancers, lenders and brokers place in its platform.
Novello Chartered Surveyors joins OPDA, bringing AI and smart data to the surveying front line
The Open Property Data Association (OPDA) has announced Novello Chartered Surveyors as its latest member. The firm said it has invested significantly in new technology and smart data to transform the survey process. Its surveyors already use drone-assisted inspections and digital data capture on site, and the group is soon to launch a new AI-powered platform that will turn static survey PDFs into interactive, easy-to-understand reports.
James Brook, CEO of Novello, said: “Joining OPDA puts us in the room where the standards are being set. We believe condition reports produced by qualified surveyors and delivered as open data at the start of a transaction are the missing piece in upfront information.
“We want to help define what that looks like and then deliver it at scale. What we bring to the association is the front line: 40 plus surveyors inspecting homes every day, a live platform turning those inspections into structured data, and direct relationships with the agents, brokers and consumers the standards are meant to serve.”
It joins a growing network of suppliers at OPDA that includes all six big banks, building societies, conveyancers, estate agents, technology providers and property professionals working together to support the adoption of open property data standards and accelerate the industry’s digital transformation.
ESTAS announced new executive director
Ahead of the annual ESTAS Awards the client review company has announced Amy Bibiris has joined as Executive Director. Bibiris was previously Commercial Director at Smart Compliance having spent time in estate agency at Romans and Davis Tate.
Commenting on her appointment Simon Brown, Founder of ESTAS, said: “Amy understands this industry from every side, because she’s worked in nearly all of it. She knows what great service takes, and she knows what it means to the people delivering it. Just as importantly, she gives so much back, always willing to go the extra mile for the industry she loves.
“She’s also been supporting ESTAS from the sidelines for years, so in many ways it feels like she’s already one of us. We can’t wait to see where Amy takes us next, and what a week to start.”
Bibiris added: “I’ve loved this industry from my very first day in a branch, and I’ve never stopped believing in the people who make it what it is. They work incredibly hard, they care deeply, and they deserve to be recognised for it. That’s why ESTAS matters. It gives agents a way to stand out through the thing that counts most, the trust of the people they’ve looked after.
