A process-driven approach
My background in IT consulting means I am naturally structured and methodical. I manage your mortgage the way I would manage a complex project — with clear milestones, regular communication, and nothing left to chance.
ABOUT CENTURY OAK FINANCIAL
I am not the adviser who hands you a recommendation and disappears.
About Century Oak Financial
I am not the adviser who hands you a recommendation and disappears.
John Pickering
My background
My name is John Pickering, and I am a mortgage and protection adviser based in Rowley Park, Stafford.
My career before financial services was spent in two very different but complementary worlds. I spent several years in sales for one of the UK's largest plant machinery dealers — a role that taught me how to build relationships quickly, understand what clients actually need rather than what they say they need, and follow through on commitments. After that I moved into IT consulting, where I spent five years managing complex projects, multiple stakeholders, and clients who were depending on me to deliver. Precision, clear communication, and seeing things through to the end were not optional in that environment.
Those two careers shaped the way I work as a mortgage adviser more than any qualification. I know how to have a commercial conversation. I know how to manage a process. And I know how to be the person a client can actually rely on.
Two years ago I founded Century Oak Properties, a property business through which I developed a deep understanding of the property market and what clients go through when navigating a property transaction. It was through that experience — and through my own experience as a mortgage client — that Century Oak Financial Solutions was born.
Why I set up Century Oak Financial Solutions
The honest answer is that it grew out of what I was already doing and what I was already seeing.
Working in property investment, I saw how much difference the right mortgage adviser made to a transaction — and how much damage the wrong one could do. I saw clients left chasing updates, unsure what was happening, being passed between different people within the same company, and ultimately feeling like a number rather than a person.
I also saw an opportunity. An opportunity to build something different — a service where the client has one point of contact, where that contact actually knows their case inside out, and where the adviser does not consider their job done until the keys are in the client's hand.
That is what Century Oak Financial Solutions is built to be. Not the biggest mortgage broker in Staffordshire. The most thorough one.
What I bring to every client
Real experience in property
I am not just an adviser who has read about property investment — I am an active investor myself. When I sit down with a landlord or a property investor, I understand the numbers, the strategy, and what is actually at stake. That context changes the quality of the conversation.
Direct access, always
When you work with me, you deal with me. Not a call centre, not a different adviser, not an assistant who will pass a message on. You have my direct contact details from day one and you use them throughout the process.
I see it through
My commitment to every client is straightforward: I will be with you from the first conversation to completion. I liaise with your lender, your solicitor, your estate agent, and your conveyancer — keeping things moving and keeping you informed. If something needs chasing, I chase it. If something goes wrong, I deal with it. That is what the service means.
Qualifications & regulatory information
I hold the CeMAP qualification — the industry standard for mortgage advisers in the United Kingdom.
Century Oak Financial Solutions Ltd is an Appointed Representative of Cox & Flight Financial Solutions Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Cox & Flight Financial Solutions Limited is a member of HL Partnership Limited.
Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage or any other debt secured on it. Some buy to let mortgages are not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Think carefully before securing other debts against your home.
The guidance and information contained within this website is subject to the UK regulatory regime and is therefore targeted at consumers based in the UK.
Ready to take the next step?
Book a free, no-obligation consultation and let's talk through your situation. No forms, no commitment — just a straightforward conversation.