After struggling to find suitable staff to fill vacancies within the finance department of John Banks Group, finance director Andy Smith decided to off-shore some of his accounting and administrative...

With the 2022 reporting season now well underway, it’s apparent that only the most proactive profit- and efficiency-focused groups can match the 2021 results which had a built-in non-recurring stock...

Figures from the FLA show that consumer car finance new business volumes fell in March 2023 by 8% compared with the same month in 2022. The corresponding value of new business fell by 7% over the same...

Consumers are undertaking greater pre-purchase analysis of running and reliability costs. They are seeking longer finance repayment periods, and overall there is greater buyer hesitancy in making a...

While much of the focus on the transition to agency is all about how the direct sales model itself will work for retailers, a key challenge is going to be the sharing of data between the OEMs, the...

Economic factors such as rising inflation and interest rates are accelerating change in consumer confidence. GfK’s long-running Consumer Confidence Index decreased to -41 in June, a new record low....

While the new Consumer Duty puts on the onus and responsibility for achieving its objectives onto the lenders, the real problem is the information required to be sent to customers by the Consumer...

Retailers have been given an extra three months to implement the FCA’s new Consumer Duty to allow them to “fundamentally improve” how they sell finance to consumers. The new Consumer Duty...

It’s against my nature to focus on negatives, but with the Consumer Duty looming increasingly large with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) due to announce their finalised plans for what have...

The automotive industry is going through a really interesting time, particularly with regard to the regulatory environment, with the FCA’s new Consumer Duty coming through which is set to have a...

Volkswagen Financial Services is working on a used EV finance offer that could potentially launch this autumn. It will provide finance for customers wanting to own a used EV in the ID range, over a 24...

Car finance regulation is likely to see significant overhaul in the next few years following the Government’s commitment to reform the 1974 Consumer Credit Act which regulates personal loans...

Dealer finance has changed significantly over the 30+ years I have spent working in or with finance companies, retailers and OEMs. From a ‘nice to have’, finance has emerged as a significant...

The trajectory towards an online used car purchase, which was so crucial during lockdown, has waned since the UK re-opened. This was a key finding from the latest wave of our long-term ‘Attitude to...

The latest figures from the FLA show that the consumer car finance market reported a fall in new business volumes of 21% in September 2021 compared with the same month in 2020. In the nine months to...

Founded as a bicycle shop in 1859 and appointed as Ford Motor Company’s first official dealer in Great Britain in 1910, Hendy Group is today a significant multi-franchise business operating...

Motor retailers have weathered the Covid-19 storm remarkably well so far. This follows a sustained period of decline in new car registrations. In 2021 year to date, registrations are being distorted...

I’ve just read an article in the Times under the headline, ‘Would you trust a second-hand car salesman to give you a loan?’ Without question the inference in the headline was disappointing but,...

In a year dominated by the Covid-19 pandemic and its lockdown conditions, car sales fell back. However, while new car registrations fell 29.4% in 2020, used car sales only reduced by 14.9%. The trend...

28 January is a pivotal opportunity for motor finance to reinvent itself and create a new level of consumer trust and confidence in the dealer finance model. It is also a significant opportunity to...