Regulator approves Manchester specialist bank to conduct consumer lending
Distribution Finance Capital Holdings, a Manchester-based specialist bank providing working capital solutions to dealers and manufacturers across the UK, has received authorisation from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to conduct consumer lending.
Following its application to the FCA last summer and having responded to the FCA’s due diligence requests, the group announced that its subsidiary, DF Capital Retail Finance, is now authorised to conduct consumer asset finance.
This enables it to provide finance to the customers, at inception, of its leisure dealers, as well as directly to businesses wanting to fund the purchase of other products across its commercial sectors.
Having demonstrated to the FCA that it can meet the expected standards for consumer lending and in light of recent enquiries into motor finance and commission disclosure, the group said it is confident it can scale this new product in line with prevailing legal, regulatory and customer expectations.
As previously announced, the group remains on track to launch this asset finance/hire purchase capability during the first half of 2025, giving it access, through its existing dealer customers initially, to adjacent markets several times larger than the group’s existing core lending product and positioning the group firmly as a multi-product lender in its chosen markets.
CEO, Carl D’Ammassa, said: “Today represents a significant step forward in our growth strategy.
“Becoming a multi-product lender has been a key element of our medium term growth plan and strategic ambition for some time.
“Now, having the required permissions from the FCA to launch a consumer asset finance product unlocks sizeable opportunity for the group and one that is in significant demand from our dealer and manufacturer customers.”
The group reported, in its last published accounts, total operating income of £38.014m for the year to December 31, 2023, up from £20.431m in 2022, and a pre-tax profit of £4.573m, compared with £1.304m the previous year.
