Tuesday, October 25, 2011
The Car Finance Company to put £66m into market in next two years
A new car finance company with a unique business model focused on physical branch sales has recently announced major growth plans, after four years of keeping a low profile in the industry.
Subprime specialist The Car Finance Company plans to inject £66m into the motor finance market in the next 24 months as part of a planned expansion drive.
The company, which won the Lender of the Year award at the recent F&I Awards held by Frontline Solutions, operates out of three physical premises on British high streets but hopes to expand to 20 locations over the next two years.
Although the branch strategy incurs overhead costs, it’s not something founder and managing director Mark Smith is afraid of: “We’re meeting every customer. We’re getting to know them, and can be sure they understand every term in the contract. They must understand every term and condition, or we won’t lend money to them.”
Smith says his company's model is built on an ethical foundation, based on trying to make car finance as approachable and affordable to consumers as possible, with an emphasis on repeat business rather than high rates charged.
Under the company's method, dealers submit proposals to their local branch, before sending customers on to the shop to have their applications underwritten. If this is not possible, The Car Finance Company will send representatives to the dealer to meet customers face to face.
“Our model is different and we will accept the costs involved, because spending time with the customer is essential to us,” said CEO Andrew Walton-Green. “We’re looking at a long-term model. We don't want the customer to feel like a pariah. We want to help people who genuinely want to repair their credit.”
Their fourth office opens in Chatham in November and staff have already been hired for Reading, Crawley, Bristol, the south coast of Wales and Cambridge, with a growth from 27 to 90 employees projected for the current growth spurt.
“As long as we can maintain quality, we can go faster,” said Walton-Green.
DATED: 26.10.11
FEED: MF
