Glasgow motor finance firm rides used car wave but flags 'areas of concern'

A Glasgow-based motor finance provider has reported a further acceleration in new business as the used car market continues to be “extremely buoyant”.

Startline Motor Finance said it had seen a 30 per cent year-on-year increase in the value of new business volumes written during the first quarter of 2022.

Chief executive Paul Burgess said: “Among the dealers and other introducers who offer our range of motor finance products, trading continues to be strong. During 2021, we saw an overall increase of around 25 per cent in our business volumes and that degree of growth is continuing.

“Consumer confidence in the sector appears to be resilient and there are also some signs of easing in the stock shortages that we have seen over the last two years. These and other factors have contributed to this performance.”

Startline Motor Finance chief executive Paul Burgess.

Founded eight years ago, Startline employs 170 people at its headquarters at Skypark, Glasgow. It works with around half of the UK’s top 50 franchise dealers by turnover as well as 70 per cent of the top 50 independent car retailers.

Burgess pointed to some obstacles for the remainder of the year.

“There are clearly a number of areas of concern,” he said. “The cost of living crisis is set to worsen through the year while the impact of the situation in Ukraine is not yet clear, although it looks as though it could affect new car production quite significantly.

“However, the fundamentals of the market remain strong and we believe that the sector as a whole and Startline in particular are set for a successful 12 months.”

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