lender
Hire purchase specialist Welcome has grown its turnover in the
first half of 2007 by 51 per cent year on year to reach a total of
£203m, it was announced.
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The growth was achieved despite a slump in UK motor hire
purchase over the period, with a 2.4 per cent overall decline
recorded by the Finance & Leasing Association’s statistics.
Welcome, part of non-prime specialist Cattles plc, said the
growth was due to the “success of the division’s hire purchase
field sales team in developing our national network of used car
finance introducers.”
Its car retail arm Welcome Car Finance, which operates from 12
sites nationwide, grew its sales of used cars by 58.3 per cent in
H1 2007 compared with the year-ago figure, to 6,726 units.
The finance company currently only accepts one in 10
applications for credit, although it plans to increase the
proportion of business it writes: “We could comfortably accept many
more [than one in 10 applications] within our existing risk
profiles. And we’ll do so – at a pace that allows us to develop
appropriate products and stay as close to individual customers as
we do today.”
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By GlobalDataRetiring chief executive Seán Mahon, who will be replaced by
David Postings, the former head of Lloyds TSB Business, said he was
“delighted” with Cattles’ results. “The growth momentum achieved in
the second half of 2006 has continued with record new business
volumes being achieved in the period, whilst maintaining stable
credit quality.
“Demand for the group’s products remains strong and the benefits
from our significant investment in IT systems, distribution
channels and local branch network across the UK are now being
realised,” he commented, adding that broker-introduced business
volumes are rising: “We continue to receive an increasing number of
customer loan applications from our well established network of
major credit brokers and introducers.”
