Local motor finance talent
snapped up in wake of market restructuring. Claire Hack
reports.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Close Motor Finance is building up
business in Northern Ireland, after entering the region in May
following a restructuring in the market.
Gary McAdam (pictured
below), new manager of Close’s Northern Ireland
operation, said: “Volumes have been excellent. Business is going
better than we could possibly have hoped for.”
The company has signed 156 deals in
Northern Ireland since opening.
McAdam joined Close from Bank of
Scotland Ireland, following its merger with Black Horse. He joins
three former Bank of Scotland Ireland colleagues.
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By GlobalDataClose moved to pick up business
left behind by operators scaling back or leaving the market, with
changes including the merger of Bank of Scotland and Black Horse,
and a restructuring at Lombard Ireland.
Close is currently operating on the road, and hopes to find
an office building in Lisburn, County Antrim, which is a good
geographical location and convenient for the team.
“Three counties merge at the point
of Lisburn, so it is good for ease of access,” McAdam said.
The company is also looking to hire
another three staff in due course, including an office manager and
an underwriter.
McAdam said: “In Northern Ireland
we have local people making the decisions. We know the area and we
know the people we are lending to. We want to be sure of high
service-quality levels for the dealers.”
Close continues to work directly
with dealerships, including motorcycle and commercial vehicle
sellers, and has no plans to open up relationships with any brokers
in future.
“Our relationships as a company
have always been with the dealers and therefore their customers. We
prefer to stay with the dealers and we have enough business to be
going on with from that,” McAdam said.
Dealers have welcomed Close’s
entrance, according to McAdam, because the new team is made up of
familiar faces.
“We are all ex-Bank of Scotland
people, and it has had a major impact in the area,” McAdam
explained.
“We are well known to the dealers
and we have got a good relationship with them. Among the four of
us, we have about 75 years’ experience in the motor finance
industry.
“We believe we’ve earned respect
and that we are providing the quality of service people were used
to with the Bank of Scotland. We have walked back in and responded
to what they needed. There was a limited supply of credit available
to motor dealers and we have effectively increased it by 25%,”
McAdam added.
The company’s targets have been set
for the new financial year starting August and, although McAdam is
keeping the figures close to his chest, he described the outlook as
“positive”.
“I would not want our competitors
to know what volumes we are expecting to write, but I am confident
we can achieve our targets,” he said.
“We have got a strategic plan in
place for three years and I believe it is achievable. There may be
changes in the future as the branch continues to grow, which we
firmly believe it will, and there may be the opportunity for
additional personnel to be taken on.”
An industry veteran with 30 years’
experience, McAdam was previously a senior manager in the Bank of
Scotland, responsible for a team of seven.
McAdam made the decision to leave
Bank of Scotland, he said, as he saw it as an opportunity to work
with three former colleagues.
They were put in place as new
account managers in April and are dividing coverage of the six
Northern Irish counties, as well as Greater Belfast, among
them.
Close deputy managing director
James Broadhead said: “Gary is an excellent addition to our team
and I have no doubt that he will be a great asset.
“He brings with him a wealth of
experience from senior positions held in Northern Ireland in motor
finance.
“We are delighted he has taken this decision.”
