First Vehicle Finance

About First Vehicle Finance

First Vehicle Finance is a brokerage firm for the vehicle contract hire and leasing sector. It does not provide financing itself but will hunt out the best deals on the market via its connections, which include, among others, brokerage facilities with three of the leading contract hire leasing companies: Arval, Lex and LeasePlan.

First Vehicle Finance also offers GAP insurance, tyre and alloy wheel insurance, RTI (Return to Invoice) GAP insurance and SMART (Small Minor Area Repair Technology) insurance.

First Vehicle Finance Limited is regulated by the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) and franchisees — referred to as ‘Appointed Representatives’ — will operate under the registration of First Vehicle Finance, who will be responsible for all compliance issues. Franchisees will have to comply with all the practices required of the registered company but will be relieved of much of the administrative burden imposed by the FCA.

First Vehicle Finance is a member of the British Vehicle Lending and Leasing Association (BVRLA), the trade body for the vehicle renting and leasing sector.

Who is behind the First Vehicle Finance franchise?

The company was established by Richard Mayle, a former Rank Xerox sales manager who moved into the finance sector, putting his knowledge of asset finance sales, contract hire and contract purchasing to work for various leasing companies. He used the experience gained to set up First Vehicle Finance at its head office in Horley, Surrey, in 2004.

In 2013 he was joined by his son, William, and, in 2017, they began developing the business as a franchise, recruiting suitably qualified people as Appointed Representatives.

The company already had clients throughout the UK, but the presence of a local representative help grow the First Vehicle Finance brand while giving the Appointed Representative an opportunity to grow their own business as part of a recognised network.

The franchising opportunity was launched in the summer of 2018.

First Vehicle Finance prides itself on being a family business that works on developing personal, long-term business relationships with its clients that lead to repeat business with its customer base.

How does the First Vehicle Finance franchise model work?

As one of the Appointed Representatives of First Vehicle Finance, franchisees have the opportunity to set up their own business whilst benefitting from the experience of a successful business that has provided leasing finance services for 15 years. Key to the franchise is the advantages that First Vehicle Finance provides, allowing access to leading franchise providers that would typically not be available to new finance brokers.

The Appointed Representative provides First Vehicle Finance’s asset finance services in their designated territory, marketing and delivering financial solutions to business and personal customers. As the name suggests, most of these transactions will relate to the financing and procurement of vehicles, although other opportunities — such as financing business equipment — also exist.

Typically, a customer will have already decided to a certain extent what specifications of vehicle they are wanting, and it is down to the Appointed Representative to act as a facilitator to get the finance the client needs.

How much does a First Vehicle Finance franchise cost?

The franchise fee for First Vehicle Finance is £17,500 + VAT. Franchisees are likely to require a further £7,000 in additional finance to fund their start-up, and the total initial investment is likely to be in the region of £28,000.

Is financial aid available for a First Vehicle Finance franchise?

First Vehicle Finance has good relationships with potential funders should franchisees need to borrow part of their funding.

What support and training do First Vehicle Finance offer their franchisees?

Training is given in all aspects of the process for responding to customers’ enquiries and administration of the funding activity of the business and will include training in all the compliance issues that will allow franchisees to operate as Approved Representatives of First Vehicle Finance under FCA regulations. Support includes approval with the FCA and a year’s membership of the BVRLA.

Did you know?

First Vehicle Finance has outlets available across the UK

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Most of your enquiries will come via the internet so First Vehicle Finance will set you up with your own local First Vehicle Finance webpage on its main site, and three months of launch marketing with search engine optimisation.

First Vehicle Finance will provide a computer terminal that works with the system requirements, software set-up and first-year fees for licences, including the Domain Name licence. It will also install a VOIP telephone system, required so that customer calls can be recorded through the First Vehicle Finance system, as required by the FCA.

Support also includes business stationery (business cards, letterheads, compliment slips, etc.) and business planning support.

What is First Vehicle Finance looking for in a franchisee?

First Vehicle Finance are looking for Appointed Representatives to launch their own finance broker business and are looking for self-motivated people who will commit to seeking out opportunities to provide leasing finance — primarily for motor vehicles, but also the lease or lease-purchase of other business assets — and building a business.

Experience in the area of finance and sales will be an advantage, but full training will be given.

Successful Representatives will need to feel comfortable on the phone, approaching local businesses to introduce services and following up opportunities.

As this can be a home-based business, work hours can be set around family and other commitments, although Appointed Representatives will need to be self-motivated and dedicated if they hope to build a worthwhile business.

Because the Appointed Representative must work under the rules of the Financial Conduct Authority, franchises who have undergone insolvency, had financial problems, or have County Court Judgements against them, may find that, under certain circumstances, they are disbarred from getting the authorisation required to become an Appointed Representative.

What are the potential rewards from a First Vehicle Finance franchise?

Appointed Representatives (franchisees) receive a commission on each funding contract completed, with 20 per cent retained as a form of a management fee. Each contract is different, as will be every commission rate.

Are existing First Vehicle Finance franchises available for sale?

First Vehicle Finance has identified 120 territories in the UK that the brand wishes to gain a presence in. Using professional mapping software, the company guarantees that each territory contains a minimum of 12,000 businesses. Virtually all of these businesses will require a vehicle of some sort, even if only for personal use by the owner —something a First Vehicle Finance Appointed Representative will be able to arrange finance for.

How in-demand is First Vehicle Finance right now?

The BVRLA reported in 2017 that their members — First Vehicle Finance being one — were responsible for financing almost five million vehicles on the roads in the UK, including one in eight cars and one in five vans and trucks.

Leasing brokers in the small fleet sector, of which First Vehicle Finance is part, are responsible for 316,205 cars and vans on leases in the UK in 2018, showing steady growth in the total number of vehicles of 10 per cent from 2017. Personal contract hire (PCH) represented 57 per cent of all car leasing contracts, while business contract hire (BCH) represented 38 per cent.

While vehicle leasing remains strong, the number of new contracts for vans remained almost static in the same period.

The volume of new contracts amounted to 108,000, up almost 10,000 over 2017.

Changes in law mean that petrol and diesel cars will no longer be sold in the UK by 2040, but changes will be felt much earlier than that deadline — and vehicles of any description will need financing of some description.

How do I start setting up my own First Vehicle Finance franchise?

The first step to take for a First Vehicle Finance franchise is to schedule a call with Recruitment Specialist, Pam Gordon. To find out more, or to request further information on franchising with First Vehicle Finance, click on the ‘Send Enquiry’ button now.