James McGee, MD, Northridge Finance outlines the selection criteria for long-term partners
It has been a monumental year for Northridge Finance: not only have we rebranded, but it has also been one of the most successful years for the business. 2015 saw the business grow 15% – its fifth consecutive year of growth.
How have we managed to do this? Through new and long-term relationships, we’ve been able to fund a broader range of deals, helping our retail partners increase sales and profitability with a fair and transparent range of finance products, while also strengthening our position as the consistent alternative to the market leaders.
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Northridge continues to focus on delivering products which meet the specific requirements of intermediaries and building long-term relationships. We’ve increased our field team and upped the level of face-to-face interaction, both with top dealer groups and smaller businesses.
Relationships between dealers and customers are evolving, with the customer ultimately the winner, and this is absolutely key for us at Northridge.
People often ask about the selection process Northridge goes through in choosing if a dealer is able to offer the Joint Venture product.
What we look out for are dealers with longevity and financial soundness. To date it has primarily been long-established franchised dealers who have a solid standing with a good repeat-customer base. We also have quality used retail partners offering Joint Venture, and successful partnerships are developing.
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By GlobalDataAs displayed in my presentation at the Motor Finance Europe Awards in Frankfurt, our Joint Venture product gives dealers access to the most competitive rates, while sharing the risk and reward and ultimately allowing them to sell more cars. The quality of the book is very strong, driven by the pedigree and integrity of our dealer partners. It is a long-term partnership, and from the dealers’ perspective offers them another option, complementing their existing manufacturer commitments while treating customers fairly.
Dealers naturally have more of a vested interest in Joint Venture agreements, as they are sharing both risk and reward
which encourages quality, both in customer selections for Joint Venture and sales processes. This encourages a transparent partnership relationship between intermediary, lender and customer, which is good outcome for all parties.
The nature of the deal encourages good behaviours, as it is in the interests of all parties to ensure customers are sold products that suit their needs.
As a result Northridge can point to increased retention, customer satisfaction and significantly lower arrears cases than the industry as a whole.
With increased regulation has also come increased consumer expectations on transparency and value. Our Joint Venture product not only offers stability to dealer partners with its shared risk and reward framework, it also offers a fairer and more customer-orientated deal for the UK motorist.
Looking ahead at 2016, we will continue to innovate and ensure that customer outcomes are at the heart of our processes. We believe that focusing on customer requirements presents further opportunities for the intermediary industry to promote a professional and transparent image.
