Clearview National November 2019 - Issue 216 | Page 76

BUSINESSNEWS
Consumer credit co. sums up
20 years in fenestration finance
» » CONSUMER CREDIT
Solutions is celebrating 20
years supporting the glass and
glazing industry and providing
consumer finance to the sector.
The business began in 1999 as a
partnership and is still owned and
managed by its founders Andy
Wallace and Peter Nicholson.
Since then CCS has grown into
the UK’s leading independent
finance facilitator working
with family-run and regional
businesses, as well as some of
the country’s top brands. The
company has a UK-wide team of
Business Development Managers
in addition to support staff based
at its headquarters near Preston,
Lancashire.
Managing Director Andy
Wallace reflected, “Twenty years
is an incredible milestone for the
business. In that time, we have
not only overcome the challenge
of entering the highly competitive
consumer finance industry but we
have absolutely thrived, which is
a testament to the hard work and
dedication of the whole team.”
CCS has built a reputation
for its innovative approach
to consumer credit and now
manages around a £1million
pounds a day in finance
applications. It became a limited
company in 2018.
Andy continued, “We have
dedicated ourselves to providing
a level of customer service that
is second to none, and building
strong relationships with our
retail-partners is at the core of
everything we do. By taking
the time to understand our
partners’ businesses thoroughly
we can provide them with a credit
strategy that will win them more
customers, grow their businesses
and help them become even more
successful.
“Over the last two decades
we haven’t allowed ourselves to
standstill. We’re constantly taking
steps to ensure CCS remains ahead
of the game while staying true to
its founding values – operating
with integrity at all times; enabling
retail-partners to maximise each
and every sales opportunity; and
striving to ensure end-customers
get a credit offering that’s both fair
and meets their requirements.”
CCS led the way in promoting
the benefits of soft-sell
promotional finance in the Home
Improvement sector, such as
interest free and buy now pay
later, over high-cost loans used as
a revenue stream by businesses.
It was at the forefront of
encouraging the industry to put
customers first and proving that
promotional finance is actually
better for business as it creates
more enquiries, closes more sales
and generates higher order values
compared to cash.
Executive Director Peter
Nicholson added, “Our approach,
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which we started to introduce in
2007, was ahead of the game and
pre-empted the introduction of
the Financial Conduct Authority’s
key principle of ‘treating
customers fairly’ when it took
over responsibility for consumer
credit from the Office of Fair
Trading in 2014. Since the FCA’s
appointment, we have continued
to enhance our support by
recruiting a Marketing Manager
to assist retail-partners with their
finance-led promotions and a
Compliance Management team to
provide guidance on regulation.
“We’ve also invested heavily in
software tools to help businesses
meet their regulatory obligations.
This includes the acquisition of a
controlling share in Castlefields
Computer Consultants, which
enables us to be more directly
involved in the development of
cutting-edge finance solutions.
“We’re looking forward to a
positive future and CCS remains
in a position to continue to offer
the Glass & Glazing sector a
strong credit offering – including
Buy Now Pay Later, 0% interest
free and low interest rate options
– backed by some of the UK’s
biggest and best lenders.”
About Consumer Credit Solutions
Consumer Credit Solutions was
founded in 1999 and is the UK’s
largest independent facilitator of
point-of-sale credit to the home
improvement sector.
CCS offers a wide range of
finance products in partnership
with leading ‘blue-chip’ lenders,
and has a wide customer base
ranging from independent
retailers through to national
brands, including: Hammonds,
Safestyle UK and Jacuzzi.
As part of its credit
management service, the CCS
team delivers business advice
and training in sales and credit
application completion. CCS
manages around £1million a day
in finance applications.
www.creditsolutionsgroup.co.uk