U.K. lessor Investec Asset Finance has acquired commercial and consumer motor finance brokerage Mann Island Finance for an undisclosed fee.
Jo Jenner, managing director of Investec’s vehicle finance arm, said the deal was part of the firm’s strategy to grow its broker-introduced business, and the primary aim is to develop Mann Island’s business functions and increase sales.
Mann Island has a panel of 25 lenders and offers hire purchase, personal loans, and personal contract purchase deals to consumers through car dealerships, as well commercial vehicle finance options for corporate customers. Investec had an existing relationship with Mann Island as a funder, primarily for commercial vehicle deals.
Jenner told Motor Finance that Investec wanted to develop Mann Island’s business processes and would continue to work with its panel of funders. “Our main drive is, first and foremost, to help develop the Mann Island business in its systems, processes, governance, and sales,” he said.
Jenner also said the value of Mann Island’s business was in its relationships with dealerships and its panel of funders, and Investec plans to support and enhance those existing relationships. “We want to support the business’s brokering activity, and one of the benefits in an acquisition like this is the fact we are going to be earning fee income, which is a counterbalance to annuity income we have elsewhere in the business,” he said.
According to Jenner, Mann Island typically placed between £160 million and £170 million ($268 million to $285 million) in business to its funders, around 75% to 80% of which is consumer retail finance.
―Courtesy Motor Finance
