The launch of Close Asset Finance’s
consolidated broker division, Close Business Finance (CBF), was
driven by a desire to provide joined-up services for the
market.
Speaking to Leasing Life, Mike
Randall, managing director of the broker and transport divisions at
Close Asset Finance, said: “We felt the time was right to make a
clear statement to the market place. We’ve taken all our best bits
and put them together as a single offering.”
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CBF was launched on 1 March 2011 from the
merger of Close Asset Finance’s broker activities – Kingston Asset
Finance and One Business Finance.
The move has seen the recruitment of broker
development managers, whose roles are to be in contact with the
broker market, help brokers win clients, and thereby allow Close to
supply the necessary financing.
Randall said: “For instance, if a customer was
buying a piece of machinery at £100,000 [€113,000] and a broker
development manager goes in with them, it may be that we could
enhance the deal by taking additional security on other
equipment.”
Richard Briscoe, managing director of CBF,
added: “Brokers weren’t very clear about where they needed to place
their business. We wanted to bring clarity.
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By GlobalData“We have an operations centre in Hessle [near
Hull] to take all the proposals, all the administration and all the
underwriting. We also decided to have a broker support centre in
Blackburn, which I think is unique in the market.”
CBF has also launched a new website that
includes an electronic documentation function and will later
feature direct links to brokers’ own sites, as well as altered
“repossessions for sale” pages.
Briscoe said the new website would enable CBF
to communicate easily with brokers, as well as allowing them to
download documents to obtain management information about
proposals.
“We’ve spent a long time listening to brokers,
looking at what they’re looking for and how we’re perceived by the
market. We’ve removed the hurdles from doing business with us,” he
added.
claire.hack@vrlfinanclalnews.com
