9:35 am, July 22, 2015
MANCHESTER-based Carfinance247, a specialist online motor finance broker, achieved annual growth of 280 per cent in its last financial year.
Turnover at Carfinance247 rose to nearly £10m this year (£9.9m), from £2.6m last year, while the amount funded to consumers was £92.2m, an increase of 271 per cent on the previous year. The independently-owned business is based in Ancoats and employs 165 people.
Brothers Reg and Louis Rix, who founded the business in 2006, put the phenomenal growth down to their investment in technology, a fast-growing, passionate workforce and a shift in the market away from dealership finance.
Carfinance247 operates nationwide. With partnerships with some of the UK’s leading lenders including Hitachi, Paragon Bank and Motonovo, it helps customers get the best rates of finance to match their personal circumstances and credit rating.
While the business dates back to 2006, when it was set up alongside Reg and Louis’s online car classified business nectars.com that they sold to the RAC in February 2013, it’s only in the past two years, since this sale, that the brothers have focused solely on motor finance.
Managing director Reg Rix explained: ‘The launch of our new website in September 2014 was a huge turning point.
‘The site has helped us attract and convert a higher number of customers and is supported by a bespoke system developed by our 15-strong in-house development team that has sped processes up, improved our overall customer service and reduced the need to manually underwrite applications.’
Talking about Carfinance247’s future plans, Louis Rix said: ‘In addition to a suite of new services and website features that will go live in the near future, we are investing heavily in our marketing activities.
‘Our brand name undoubtedly helps us be memorable, but at the end of the day it’s our technology, passionate workforce, customer service and brand development that helps us stand out in our field.’
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