Cardiff headquartered bank Hodge has provided an up to £240m new lending facility to support the growth of second-hand car finance and tech firm Blue Motor Finance.
Blue Motor Finance provides loans to consumers through its network of dealerships and brokers. It has to date lent £2.5bn to more than 250,000 customers.
The two year funding line, is part of Hodge’s diversification strategy to invest in and partner with other companies. It has been working closely with Blue to broker the deal for the past few months.
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Hodge is no stranger to motor finance, as its founder Sir Julian Hodge set up Carlyle Finance in 1977. Carlyle offered used car finance alongside the bank’s commercial and savings business for many years, until it was sold in 2006 to South Africa’s largest car finance provider WesBank. Carlyle Finance has since rebranded to Motonovo, which has its offices in Cardiff in the same building, 1 Central Square, as Hodge.
David Landen, chief executive officer for Hodge, said: “I’m delighted to announce our partnership with Blue. It’s a great strategic fit for Hodge, complementing our existing business and demonstrating our strong financial position, and continued ambition to grow and deliver specialist solutions.
“We are really excited to develop the relationship with Blue over the coming months and years, and building a strong long-term partnership like this means we can grow and build on our existing mortgage, commercial and savings businesses with motor finance, leveraging Blue’s advanced technology and distribution network in the process.”
Mr Landen added: “It really does feel like we’ve come full circle, as when I first joined in 2002 Hodge still owned Carlyle Finance, and so it doesn’t feel like a new market to us but one that we are returning to, and have a solid and secure past with.”
Tiku Patel, chief executive of Blue Motor Finance, said “These partnerships take considerable effort, commitment, and trust to put in place and we’re delighted to close this facility with Hodge. We look forward to a long-term relationship between our businesses. This facility shows confidence in Blue’s abilities to carefully manage credit risk, delivering robust asset performance and great customer outcomes. It will further support the growth and development of both our businesses.”