Insights

Moving into a new chapter in the Aldermore Asset Finance story

Business Finance • 05/12/2022 • 5 min read

To start with we’ve introduced new roles for growth and development. We’ve created more space for our colleagues to get closer to our brokers, so that they can provide a bespoke service in our core markets. We’re bringing real clarity to this model by launching three specific verticals – specialist car and transportation, specialist equipment and wholesale. Dean Spencer, Chris Smith, and Simon Lefevre have been appointed respectively to lead these areas and with their vast experience and expertise, I look forward to seeing strong growth in our distribution as we move into 2023.

We’ve been investing in our technology and our front-end broker portal, Asset Backer, for some time now.  Asset Backer empowers our brokers to stay in control of their new deals from proposal to pay out. Whether it’s getting a quick quote and sending a proposal directly to us for a credit decision or raising electronic documents for e-sign, the functionality of the portal is there to see.

Additionally, we’ve implemented automation that allows brokers to get credit decisions on straightforward transactions in a matter of minutes. To help drive efficiency for brokers that have their own systems we launched our broker API, Asset Backer Link earlier in the year. Asset Backer Link connects us directly to a broker’s system so that they only have to load a deal once without any need to re-key. When we combine Asset Backer Link with our other automation, brokers are often seeing decisions in seconds and can pick the journey back up in Asset Backer so that their customers can e-sign the documentation and close the transaction. Collectively, we know Asset Backer, Asset Backer Link and our automated credit decision engine as our “happy path” and we’ve had some great feedback that supports this label.

We’ll continue to invest in our people and platforms but for now, I’ll let Dean, Chris, and Simon update on their respective areas.

 

Lee Rhodes, commercial director – Asset Finance

It’s exciting times at Aldermore. We’re energised behind a new Asset Finance strategy that is giving the market greater clarity and direction where we can expand and add tangible value.

Whilst operating in an uncertain macro-economic environment, it’s important to make sure we have stable foundations to build on and the talent to deliver continued growth.

Our focus is on three areas: growing in existing specialist markets where we can best serve our brokers; building a targeted direct capability; and entering complimentary new segments. To ensure that we achieve market leading propositions in these areas, we’re making sure that we have the right expertise to help us on this journey, while utilising our investment in technology so that our people operate where they add most value.

Developing the blueprint for growth - Dean Spencer, head of specialist car & transport

When we first launched our specialist car team in 2018, it wasn’t intended to be disruptive and its success has become a blueprint for the sector-based proposition we have today across our business. Having the right people, in the right roles that are empowered to offer an exceptional broker experience sounds easy on paper, but rarely is in practice. I’ve been fortunate to have a great team around me that has enabled us to be one of the market leaders in the transportation and broker specialist car market.

Whilst we know the transportation sector has been impacted by various external factors including rising fuel prices, shortage of new vehicles and high used vehicle values, we see great opportunities where we can add value and our passion for funding these assets remains as strong as ever.

We’re developing deeper partnerships in the specialist car & transportation broker markets through even better service, offering bespoke transactions and structures and using our specialist asset management expertise across a wider range of specialist car and & transportation assets.

We have a strong presence in the broker market, we know it’s highly competitive and is served by a wide range of established funders and new entrants alike. This year we diversified our distribution by launching new products and in new markets. We welcomed James Harrowsmith and David Hughes to the team earlier this year. Both James and David have a deep knowledge and expertise in the fleet funding market and they’ve made some fantastic progress working with our risk and operations teams to go to market with a fleet proposition in very short order. Through this channel we’re already working with fleet providers funding their fleets through both agency and employee schemes.

Whilst we continue to support customers by funding a range of vehicles, our fleet proposition is a great first step into supporting larger scale electrification of the UK car market. This market is critical to the UK’s adoption of electric vehicles on a mass scale and we’re delighted to be playing a part in that. We are also seeing increased demand for funding electric vehicles through our broker channel and as manufacturers continue to develop more alternatively fuelled options in the specialist markets, this brings great news for both the consumer and the environment.

 

Focusing our core specialisms - Chris Smith, head of specialist equipment

Throughout my career I’ve held Aldermore in high esteem and as an important player in the UK asset funding market from its early days as a challenger through to now. Since joining Aldermore in October, I’ve seen first-hand why we’re so successful at what we do. We’ve got a great team, thriving in a positive environment who are fully committed to our new strategy. I’m really excited to join at such a pivotal time in the Aldermore journey and as we move into a new phase with greater clarity and a deep desire to grow, we can really add value.

The title of “specialist equipment” while broad in its definition, gives us scope to identify and focus on key segments where we can apply our expertise. Traditional hard asset classes of construction and agriculture are top of my list to expand through different channels, however we also have strong appetite in other areas like manufacturing, industrial equipment and materials handling. We know these sectors demand a funder who understands both the asset and the customer and must have the products and processes to meet their needs. We will relaunch in these segments over the coming months with a comprehensive proposition that meets the needs of our intermediary partners and customers alike, and as ever we will be a committed, long-term finance partner. I firmly believe that we can support brokers, dealers and customers with an offering that is complementary to all.

To achieve our ambitious plans for 2023, my immediate priority is building on the foundations of our offering, and this focuses on people. We’ve got a great team holding a wealth of experience in the Asset Finance market but we’re also investing in additional resource across our sales and operations teams to allow us to have a dedicated team in place, who will further bolster the expertise we already hold both in the team and as an organisation.

 

Continuing to back independent lenders and more - Simon Lefevre, head of wholesale

As another relative newcomer to Aldermore, my primary exposure had been looking in from the outside. I’ve been really impressed by how the business has grown and developed into the strong brand and market leading proposition it is today in both the small ticket and wholesale markets.

My time at Aldermore so far has been fantastic - meeting friendly, professional, and energised people, who are getting behind our new strategy and supporting the delivery of our core objectives. It’s been great to get stuck in, get to know my new team and start work on driving our wholesale ambitions forward. To achieve this, I count myself fortunate to join a highly engaged team well placed in the market, appreciated and respected by their clients and partners and with a strong appetite to support our growth.

Wholesale financing can mean a lot of different things, but to us we are currently focused on three core areas. Our block discounting proposition is one of the leaders in the market and I will be ensuring we develop this even deeper through working closely with our clients and within the team to identify new opportunities, enhance our offering and help our clients grow. Our block bridging product has been a relatively new venture for the Bank, and we are focussed on expanding our support to both existing and new long-term partners through the provision of a wider range of facilities. The third strand of our wholesale business is in the structured finance and receivables markets. This is a cornerstone proposition for us, supporting businesses, vendor partners and financial institutions alike with more complex lending facilities.

The team has a wealth of experience across our range of products. Our strategy is simple - to support growth in our clients, our proposition and our people brilliantly. Therefore, as I settle in, I’ll be adding new talent to our team to deliver on this strategy in the coming months and importantly drive our expansion into new dedicated areas such as committed revolving credit facilities and stocking. We’ve got big plans and I’m excited to see what 2023 will bring, so watch this space and do get in touch with any of the team if you would like to know more.

 

Looking forward into 2023

Lee Rhodes, commercial director – Asset Finance

As we close out the year, I want to say thank you to all our existing partners who’ve supported us in 2022 and look forward to building new sustainable relationships in 2023 and beyond.

Find out more: Asset Finance for Intermediaries

 

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