Peer-to-peer lender passes £100m milestone for car loans
RateSetter has now delivered more than £100m in car financing, becoming the first peer-to-peer lending platform to lend this amount through motor partnerships.
RateSetter Motor Finance is available through more than 60 affiliated dealerships, car supermarkets and brokers at 209 locations across the UK. Separately, RateSetter also provides personal loans to car buyers, with an average car purchase price of £6,700; the £100m figure does not include this.
Car finance is a very well-established form of lending which is traditionally difficult for new companies to enter. RateSetter has done this by starting small (in 2013, its first year providing car finance, RateSetter wrote £15m of motor loans) and by focusing on a personal loan product, rather than hire purchase. Importantly, RateSetter has also focused on speed, transparency and customer service, bringing new systems and technology to the industry.
With more than 15 years of experience in the motor trade, RateSetter Motor Finance, Nick Elkan, said:
“These are exciting times and £100m is a fantastic milestone for us to reach. It proves that we are providing finance that car buyers need, competitively and efficiently. Obtaining finance via a peer-to-peer lender is no longer niche, but something that increasing numbers of car buyers are aware of and choosing.
“Our competitors in motor finance have often been around for decades, but by building up a strong track record and understanding how the car industry works and exactly what buyers require, we’re increasingly able to win people over.”
Peter Behrens, chief commercial officer, RateSetter, said:
“Motor finance is an attractive market, but it’s also a complex one which you need to understand well before wading in. Nick and his experienced team have carefully grown this part of our business and it now makes up roughly 10% of our total lending to date. We’re proud to have hit this milestone and already looking forward to the next!”