2025-04-23
Our journey started in 2009 with a simple idea: to create a solution that would provide brokers with a platform to overcome current issues within the property industry.
SortRefer was launched 16 years ago, and time really has flown since that day 16 years ago!
Launching without a website and with the first quotes done on Excel spreadsheets, it’s clear to say that SortRefer has come a very long way, and continues to evolve every day too.
Now, as we celebrate 16 years later, we’re proud of how far we’ve come!
This year, we caught up with our CEO, Kevin Tunnicliffe and Business Manager, Andy Sadler (both former brokers and founders of SortRefer) to reflect on the journey so far and share what the future may hold.
Here’s what they had to say…
Q1: Do you have a standout memory from SortRefer’s early days?
Andy (A) - Travelling down to London in a minibus for our first awards at the Moneyfacts, then coming back on the same night as we could not afford a hotel, it was an interesting trip back with the amount of alcohol consumed, and we won!
Kev (K) - Quite a few to be honest - lots of late nights working on the proposition - delivering sandwiches as our tech guy also ran a sandwich business – having chemotherapy pumped into me whilst working at my desk – being sick from my cancer treatment after eating my meal at the Moneyfacts Awards that Andy mentioned – and having the worst possible journey home!
Q2: What’s something you wish you’d known when starting out 16 years ago?
A - How difficult it is to start a law firm.
K - Nothing, as it would have made the journey less enjoyable. Similarly, there isn’t one specific thing that I want to know about the next 16 years- assuming that I’m alive for that long!
Q3: What’s been the biggest challenge you’ve overcome as a business?
K - There have been many challenges, Covid being a big one and the Liz Truss budget another, but nonetheless, as a team, we pull through these challenges together.
Q4: Is there a particular achievement you’re most proud of from the past 16 years?
A - For me, it’s the growth of the business from the 4 of us at the start, trying to get our feet on the first rung of the ladder, to where we are now, recognised as one of the best at what we do in the industry.
K - I echo Andy, and I’m super proud of what we have built. Winning our first award was fabulous, but achieving a significant instruction milestone and receiving a handmade card of congratulations from my dad in the year that he passed away has to be my proudest moment.
Q5: How has the industry evolved since SortRefer began, and has the business adapted to these changes over the years?
A - I think everything revolved around price when we started, I even remember us discussing if we even needed to update introducers on their cases, nowadays it is primarily service-driven and we provide the best service out there is my opinion.
K - Sort have always been versatile enough to adapt to changes, but if you are talking about the conveyancing industry, then I believe that it is a much more difficult job now than it was when we started out. The client expects more, the introducer expects more yet the fees have hardly changed over the years by comparison – and yet the amount of work that a conveyancer does now compared to 16 years ago has massively increased.
Q6: Are there any exciting developments or innovations we can expect to see from SortRefer in the next year?
K - Absolutely. Watch this space from a technology point of view!
Q7: What makes the SortRefer team unique?
A - Because it was developed by Mortgage Brokers; we are passionate about providing the best possible referral solution out there for advisers, from our award winning quoting system, to the BDM’s out on the road, and our knowledgeable backroom support staff.
K - What else can I say? The passion and care shines through!
Q8 - What’s one thing you wish more people knew about SortRefer?
A - We don’t just do Conveyancing!
K - Ditto
Q9: If SortRefer didn’t happen, what do you think you would be doing instead?
A - I would probably still be a Mortgage Adviser.
K - Playing golf more than 4 times a year!
Q10: What's been the most rewarding part of building the SortRefer teams?
K - Watching the teams progress and whilst we have had to become more corporate due to our size, we have managed to maintain the personal touch as recognised with our very recent Investors in People Gold Award.
Q11: What’s one assumption about running a business that turned out to be wrong?
K - People assume that because you own and run the company, you can do as you please.
Q12: If you could go back to the beginning, what would you do differently?
K - Double / Treble the price paid for Conveyancing. It is way out of kilter with what the rest of the property market gets paid.
Q13: How has SortRefer shaped who you are as a person outside of work?
A - I think it has made me more tolerant with other people, as a Mortgage Adviser, you only have control over obtaining a mortgage offer, all the other bits with a Purchase or Remortgage are largely out of your control and you can easily get frustrated with the solicitor/surveyor/search provider etc, working for SortRefer has given me access to the work everyone does in the conveyancing chain and made me appreciate what a good job they actually all do.
K - I don’t know whether it’s an age thing, or a SortRefer thing, but I am certainly a far more chilled out person today than before. I appreciate what I have and I’m grateful for it – although I really do need to improve 1 thing – my golf handicap!
Q14: Has there been a moment when you really felt “We’ve made it!”
K - Not at all. We all work incredibly hard, but we never rest on our laurels. We’re forever looking at ways that we can make things better for our introducers and their clients. This will never change.
Q15: If you could fast-forward to SortRefer’s 20th birthday (the next big milestone) what would you hope to see?
K - Continued growth at a pace, that we have embraced technology, that we have been part of a conveyancing evolution where the industry stands with shoulders high and is respected again, and where conveyancers and conveyancing firms are paid properly for the tremendous work that they do.
Q16: Would you like to give a special mention to anyone (internally or externally) who have played a key role in SortRefer’s journey so far?
A - For me, there have been lots of people over the 16 years, some who no longer work for us, others who are still here who have all contributed to our success in one way or the other, so probably unfair to single out anybody.
K - There are obviously a number of people who have been pivotal to where we are today, but I genuinely believe that here we are 16 years on, and every single person in the business is valued and listened to. This isn’t anybody’s show – we are all part of a very successful team and a great place for people to work.
Bonus question: What’s the secret to lasting 16 years in business?
A - Have belief in what you are doing, and the ability to keep going when things go wrong because they will.
K - This is really simple for me – Honesty!
Wish us a happy 16th birthday on our LinkedIn page here!
