All articles by Fred Crawley
Fred Crawley
Living on the front line
In the ten years since Frontline Solutions was founded in 2003, it has become a firm fixture in the UK motor finance landscape. But whats next for the ambitious software provider, and whos running the show? Fred Crawley finds out.
The third way: alternative approaches to customers in arrears
How lenders and collections professionals are finding alternatives to repossession and enforcement action in consumer motor finance, a round table discussion hosted by Motor Finance in collaboration with Burlington Group.
Sklaroff warning on FCA timetable and broker implications
With less than a year until the new regulator begins, the FLAs director general talks to Fred Crawley.
High street performance
As the UKs biggest independent motor finance provider announces a strategic shift from margin protection and process optimisation to business growth, Fred Crawley asks what this means for a market already brimming with growth ambitions.
DSG and Bridford combine as funders look to fill ING space
Tim Marlow, owner of luxury vehicle broker Bridford Financial Solutions, has joined the board of DSG Financial Services as director and shareholder with immediate effect.
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Industrial spirit
There were determined messages among the smiles and congratulations at Frontline Solutions’ third annual F&I Conference and Awards Dinner. Richard Brown and Fred Crawley spent the day elbow-to-elbow with brokers, lenders and dealers at Harben House, Newport Pagnell.
Differing approaches in the Broker Triangle
Fred Crawley and Richard Brown study the history, geography, maths and computer science behind the ever-diverging work of some of the nation’s biggest car finance brokers.
Bradbury moves from Jigsaw to DSG
Bradbury has over 20 years experience in car finance, including 10 years as regional manager at Wagon Finance, three years as general manager at Cardif Pinnacle and three years at Carlyle Finance (now MotoNovo) before spending nearly the past seven years at Jigsaw. During his tenure at Jigsaw, Bradbury supplied Motor Finance with a monthly analysis of PCP deals and now joins Richard Hoggart, managing director of DSG, who has also provided regular comments for the publication.
Editor’s letter: Car finance saves globe (maybe)
Is there a basic incompatibility between an economic model based on perpetual growth and a social model founded on sustainability? Its certainly a heavier question than I usually start an editors letter with and, if Im honest, too big a question to tackle on page four of Motor Finance Furthermore, while I am as guilty as any journalist of occasionally bluffing my way through highly technical discussions, I wont pretend to be well-informed enough to present a definitive answer to this question.
Hitachi enters market with £300m ambition
Japanese lender Hitachi Capitals consumer finance division has made the decision to commit to entry into the UK motor finance market, after a nine month trial involving a small panel of brokers and a car supermarket. Hitachi Capital Consumer Finance (HCCF), which already provides non-motor finance for around 650,000 consumers in the UK, will conclude its retail motor finance trial in August, at which point it will decide which route to market it will use. HCCF is understood to have paid out £2 million worth of finance agreements in the month of May to date, with £3 million expected by month end, according to sources familiar with the new business unit.