4:19 pm, April 30, 2020
At Close Brothers Motor Finance, we’re proud to be a leading finance company with 32 years in the industry.
Our relationships, personal service and expertise are why our dealer partners choose us. We’re hands-on, we understand how dealerships work, and we know the value of a business partnership – one committed to sustainable growth.
Part of the Close Brothers Group, we work with over 8,000 dealers and brokers to offer flexible finance solutions to customers wanting a new or used car, motorcycle or light commercial vehicle.
We’re here to help dealers sell more vehicles, to more customers, more frequently.
Supporting the people and businesses of Britain through the coronavirus pandemic and beyond
As true business partners, we’re here for dealers when times are tough. We want to reassure our partners that we’re still on their side through these difficult times.
We’re there when it matters
Close Brothers has a proven track record and a long history of lending through the economic cycle, continuing to support the customers and businesses of Britain through challenging times.
We’re still open and here to help you and your customers
We‘ve made changes to the way we operate to minimise the impact to service levels for customers and partners, whilst most importantly keeping our 400 colleagues and their families safe. We continue to monitor guidance from the Government, FCA and FLA to ensure we’re doing the right thing by our colleagues, customers and dealer partners alike.
Our underwriting criteria and credit risk appetite remains consistent
Our expert underwriters are working remotely, continuing to support those customers and partners who need us. Our advice to dealers is to continue monitoring the Government advice themselves to make sure they’re running their businesses in accordance with the latest updates.
Our 100-strong sales team are still working to support dealers
Staying safe at home, our account managers are in frequent contact with our dealer partners, staying close to their specific business challenges and helping them navigate the road ahead. Our teams are also working round the clock to continue supporting our customers – many of whom have been affected by coronavirus and many of whom are key workers on the front line – to agree solutions to relieve the financial strain wherever possible.
What are we doing for dealers?
• Our funded dealers are being offered interest rate reductions or fee-free extensions on their stocking plans to alleviate pressure on cashflow.
• We’re enhancing our Showroom proposal platform so dealers can issue quotes remotely and allow customers to apply for finance ensuring critical transactions can still happen without customers having to leave their homes.
• We’re issuing regular communications to all dealer partners to inform them of key developments they need to know and sharing useful resources and advice for small-to-medium-sized business owners to help protect their future.
What are we doing for customers?
• We’ve diverted a number of our teams to support inbound customer calls so we get to speak to as many concerned customers as quickly as possible.
• We’re prioritising customer calls based upon when their next payment is due, to allow us to help customers most in need.
• We’ve set up dedicated customer support teams solely focused on helping customers who have been financially impacted by coronavirus.
What are we doing for colleagues?
• Our team of 400 are all working remotely with the tools they need to do their jobs safely from home. Colleagues with family and childcare commitments are being fully supported to allow them to flex their hours and workload as necessary.
• We’re making no temporary redundancies.
• We’re regularly communicating openly and honestly to colleagues with a real focus on well-being, mental health support and keeping a social element to the workplace.
