All articles by Fred Crawley
Fred Crawley
Advantage posts record £2.3m H1 profit
Non-prime lender Advantage Motor Finance reported record profits of £2.3m in the first six months of 2010, against £1.6m last year, topping off a decade of continuous profit growth. A 40% increase in the number of loan applications in the period saw transactions processed by Advantage rise by nearly a third. The profits have helped drive the success for Advantages parent company, consumer lender S&U, which announced an eight% rise in profit for the period to £5.4m before tax.
CCJ compliance warning
Speaking at a Finance and Leasing Association event, Burlington principal high court enforcement officer Nicholas Todd claimed several key players in the industry were using non-compliant methods to enforce County Court judgments for delivery of goods.
Former car finance boss jailed and ordered to repay £350k
A former car finance boss and car salesman has been ordered to repay £350,000, after making a series of fraudulent applications to obtain car finance. Andrew Lawson, 40, of Hexham, was convicted in May of five offences of fraud and eight offences of theft He was sentenced to two years in jail as well as ordered to repay the money under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
Finance deals
Finance and leasing offers currently available from manufacturer-owned finance companies
Editor’s letter: It’s getting cold again
Just when it seemed there would be a pleasantly optimistic start to this letter, a report from Begbies Traynor landed on the Motor Finance desk, claiming that the UK automotive sector has slipped back into decline. According to the report, 3,352 companies were found to be in distress in the last three months, compared to 3,007 in quarter two.
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Industry well prepared for CCD
Motor finance providers and their dealer partners are taking decisive action to prepare themselves for the implementation of the Consumer Credit Directive, which comes into force in the UK on 1 February next year. The Finance and Leasing Association (FLA) has reacted to the incoming changes by expanding its Specialist Automotive Finance (SAF) competence test for dealers and finance providers.
FLA talks consumer debt at party conferences
In late September and early October, politicians, lobbyists and the party faithful gathered at the party conferences for their first chance to take stock of the political landscape following Mays General Election. Beaches were out and docks and canals were in, as the conferences moved to the big city centres of Liverpool (Lib Dems), Manchester (Labour) and Birmingham (Conservatives). The FLA used this opportunity to host a series of fringe meetings on personal debt with the Consumer Credit Counselling Service.
Planning for the road ahead
Last month, a group of decision makers and spokesmen from across the vehicle leasing and finance industry met at the London offices of accountancy firm Grant Thornton to discuss the state of play in the sector as it heads towards the close of 2010
SAF test for dealers expanded
A new version of the Specialist Automotive Finance (SAF) Competence Test for dealers and motor finance company staff has been launched. The extended 60-question test incorporates extra questions on new sales processes required by the Consumer Credit Directive (CCD).
Fortis Lease exits retail finance
Fortis Lease is to exit the retail motor finance market in the UK, in a move that could give new funders the opportunity for a market entry by acquiring its book.