Provident has reported its subprime motor finance arm Moneybarn made £21.3m adjusted profit before tax in 2015, up from £15m in 2015.
Revenue grew at a slightly faster rate, 45% year-on-year, to £55.3m, while new business volumes grew 69% year-on-year. Total customer number grew from 22,000 in 2014 to 31,000 in 2015.
One of the reasons Provident credited the growth with was a reduction in the minimum lend value from £5,000 to £4,000, which has enabled it to attract more business from its broker network.
It also said the company was finding some success in raising awareness of its car finance proposition to fellow Provident company Vanquis Bank’s customers. However it noted: "The full benefit from the cross-sell opportunity will take some time to develop as awareness continues to build and Vanquis Bank customers look to replace their existing vehicles."
In 2015 Moneybarn launched an LCV product. Although no figures were given, Provident said the initial results were ‘encouraging.’
Headcount at the end of 2015 stood at 151, up from the 61 staff employed at the lender when it was acquired by Provident in August 2014.
The average customer was described as being approximately 40, employed or self-employed and with an income of around £25,000.
Despite the rapid growth reported by Moneybarn, as well as competitor Advantage, Provident said there was still an overall under supply of non-standard car finance. It predicted this, along with growing demand and the value for money provided by specialist car finance relative to other non-standard funding options would help provide growth opportunities for the lender.
