Finance. JBR CAPITAL
‘Equity release is where we have seen biggest growth’
T
he art of financing a supercar is a fine one. When dealing with the highest end of motoring and big-figure price tags, it can be tricky getting the right finance package for customers. But JBR Capital – which specialises in financing high-end supercars and classics – says it knows how to get people into the cars of their dreams. Martin Kennington, head of marketing for JBR Capital, said: ‘There are two types of people – those who are looking for lease/hire purchase, and those who want equity release. ‘There’s also somewhere in the middle where people don’t necessarily know! ‘We get fundamental questions as to how the finance works, and the other thing which people want to know is how long does the process actually take? Sometimes they’re in a hurry and want to secure a particular car they’ve found privately. ‘We assure people that the process is as efficient as possible.’ JBR Capital is certainly well versed
by JACK EVANS @jackrober in ensuring that people get the right deal. To date, the company has loaned over £400m, offering bespoke finance options to customers based on their personal circumstances and the vehicle in question. And speaking of vehicles, some jaw-dropping machines have been financed by JBR Capital. ‘We’ve done LaFerraris and McLaren P1s, for instance,’ said Kennington. ‘We don’t really do anything ordinary.’ But is there an aspect of finance that dealers could be focusing on? According to Kennington, it’s the process of equity release. ‘It’s the area where we’ve seen the
biggest growth and interest, and that’s down to the education of people who didn’t know it was a product before and now do. ‘Once people have done one finance deal we’ve seen more people taking out other policies. Around the UK it’s all going very well.’
STARTLINE
Changes over PCP VAT ‘will have a limited effect’ THE effect of changes relating to how VAT applies to PCPs will be ‘limited’ as long as sensible residual values are set by finance companies. That’s according to Startline Motor Finance, which said PCP was currently classed by Revenue & Customs (HMRC) as a supply of goods but a new briefing document says certain deals could be reclassified to become a supply of services, starting in June. This creates a number of advantages and disadvantages for
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the motor trade and its customers. In the plus column, VAT will now only be due when customer payments are made, reducing the amount paid by those who hand back the car at the end of the contract. However, where the final instalment or balloon payment being set approximates the vehicle’s market value, interest on PCPs will no longer be VAT-exempt, while ex-PCP used cars reclassified as leases sold by dealers will attract VAT on their full selling price.
Startline chief executive Paul Burgess said: ‘The changes only apply where, to use HMRC’s wording, ‘‘the final optional payment is set at or above open market value’’. ‘What this means, according to our reading, is that the move is very much designed by the government to discourage the setting of overoptimistic future values for PCPs.’ New costs could be avoided simply by setting more conservative residual values, he added.
SURVEY
A number one for Blue! Firm is fastest grower
BLUE Motor Finance was the fastest-growing business in Europe for 2018, according to the Financial Times’ annual survey of leading companies across the continent. The ranking, calculated by Statista for the FT 1000 survey, saw the automotive finance firm move up from 21st to first place. Other fast-expanding enterprises included Deliveroo, Transferwise and Hellofresh. The survey ranks the 1,000 companies with the strongest revenue growth between 2014 and 2017. Based in Sevenoaks, Blue works with more than 3,700 dealers across the UK. In the past 12 months, it has financed over 50,000 car purchases. CEO Bob Jones, pictured, said: ‘UK car finance is a £106bn market that has been dominated by the banks for a long time. Blue’s aim is to transform the market, making car ownership simple, more transparent and flexible. ‘Blue has been able to double its lending yearon-year, and has now lent more than £1bn and grown from six to 200 people in four years. We don’t see that growth slowing down.’