Meet the Support Team

Carole Challen - Office Manager & Company Secretary

Carole joined the Company  in Sept 1999, after a long & successful Career as a Retail Sales Manager.

Originally employed as Office Manager, Carole took on the additional role of Co. Secretary in November 2004.

" I love my job – it is extremely diverse, everything from opening the post to the Company Accounts. There is never a dull moment."

Outside of work, Carole lives with fiance Mark & Munchkin the Cat & lists her Loves as:- Formula One, Las Vegas, Shopping, (notorious for her Shoes & Handbags!) Cats, Concerts, Cruises, Curry………Oh, & more Shopping!

Karen Locke - Administrative Assistant/Typist

Karen joined the company as a part-time audio typist in January 2003 after various other part-time jobs and also taking time out to bring up a family.  Karen works 4 – 5 hours a day from Monday to Friday doing various office tasks.

Outside of work Karen is busy looking after her family together with a horse, two Labrador dogs, three Guinea Pigs, two rabbits and last but not least 4 goldfish.

Christine Welch - Administrator

Christine joined Lawrence Clarke Ltd in January 2012 after completing some 10 years Service with King IFA. As well as administering the Group Schemes, Christine also provides Admin Support to Martin, Kelley, Steve Smith and Larry.

When not at work, Christine enjoys travelling, walking, music, reading & loves her weekly Zumba classes. Having recently become a Grandmother to her daughter’s beautiful baby girl, Christine likes to visit the family in York as often as possible. A fond animal lover, she is also very much looking forward to getting another Border Collie sometime soon.

Anne Bowes - BA Hons ACII-Paraplanner

Anne is originally from Yorkshire but has lived in Southampton since 1991.  She has been in the financial services industry for over 15 years, working as a manager for the Southampton Office of a large life assurance company.  She has been with Lawrence Clarke Ltd since January 2007 providing an administrative and report writing service for Steve Farrell and Steve Wilson.

Anne is a Chartered Insurer, having obtained her Associate of the Chartered Insurance Institute in 1996.  She is currently working towards her diploma.

Outside work Anne is a member of English heritage and enjoys visiting historic buildings with her husband and son. 

Debbie Howell - Administrator

Debbie has been working at Lawrence Clarke since September 2007. She has two children Elliott and Abbie, who is disabled with a rare neurological disorder plus a black lab, Alfie. After living in the North-West for a number of years and a year in Cape Town she returned to settle back in Fareham in 2007. “I absolutely love my job and have learnt a great deal in the 5 years with the team….. It’s the best move I ever made!!

Outside the office, Debbie really enjoys the usual girly things like shopping and spending money, a good Tikka Masala, catching up with her friends in her spare time (which isn’t much!) but most of all loves spending time with her kids !!!

Debbie provides IFA support for Steve Smith, Kelley Duncan and Martin Dore.

Georgina Stapleford - Personal Assistant

George has been working in financial services since 1992, working the last 12 years at King IFA before joining us in January 2012 as PA to Larry Clarke.

Outside of the office George enjoys walking with her Jack Russell ‘Paddy’, going to rock concerts, as well as sharing a keen interest in classic and american cars with her partner Jon having recently become owners of a lovely yellow mustang. She also enjoys shopping, zumba classes and making jewellery.

Marion Grant - Administrator

Marion joined us in November 2009 as PA to Larry Clarke.

Originally from Edinburgh but has lived in the sunny south for 12 years now, and has been in the financial services industry for 23 years.She worked for many years with a large life assurance company, based both in Edinburgh and Southampton in an IFA Support role and is now enjoying working ‘on the other side’ in a client facing role.

Marion is currently the administrator for Ann Gilchrist and Malcolm Barnes.

When not at work Marion enjoys travelling. She and her husband have several family members based around the world making it easier to squeeze in visits to lots of different countries.