Swingeing job cuts at the motor finance business of Lloyds
Banking Group (LBG) have been announced.
LBG said that 200 jobs at Speke and 340 jobs in Chester would be
affected, along with “a salesforce and other smaller locations”, a
spokesman confirmed.
Go deeper with GlobalData
“This change will result in the loss of 910 full-time jobs which
affects 985 full and part time colleagues over a two-year period,”
LBG said.
One motor industry observer described the job losses as a “sad
but inevitable” consequence of the integration of Lloyds TSB and
HBOS’s operations, following the merger of the banks earlier this
year.
The announcement was made after a detailed review of HBOS’s
asset and motor finance operations, completed last year, which
“concluded that the majority of them were no longer financially
viable or core to the business.”
It has subsequently been decided that Black Horse will be the
sole brand of LBG’s point-of-sale dealer finance operation, with
Bank of Scotland Dealer Finance to disappear from the UK motor
finance scene.
How well do you really know your competitors?
Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.
Thank you!
Your download email will arrive shortly
Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample
We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form
By GlobalDataLBG will cease to accept new business through Bank of Scotland
Dealer Finance from 1 October, a spokesman confirmed.
LBG said that it has worked closely with the unions Unite,
Accord and GMB throughout the restructuring process. Natural
turnover and redeployment will be used “wherever possible”, LBG
said, with 240 employees from the asset finance division already
having been transferred to the retail operation at Speke.
All former customers of Bank of Scotland Dealer Finance will be
offered the option to transfer their business to Black Horse. “For
all intermediaries within the group’s non-dealer businesses, the
group will be offering 30 days to accept new business from retail
customers, and a further 60 days to write business currently in the
pipeline,” LBG added.
Chris Sutton, managing director of the combined motor and
leisure business said: “This is a significant step forward for the
company which underlines our commitment to the industry and I’m
very excited by the prospect of bringing together the UK’s two
leading independent finance providers. Between us we have a deep
understanding of the industry and know what dealers need to help
them through these tough times.
“This move gives us a real opportunity to work even more closely
with dealers, cement our already established relationships and help
them to maximise their point of sale finance income.
“Whilst there will be some changes as we combine the businesses,
for most of our dealers it will be business as usual. Our intention
is to bring all our dealers together under the Black Horse brand,
using Black Horse systems.”
