Frontline Solutions managing director Martin Hill has announced the rebranding of the business as DealTrak as part of an expansion phase which will see it move into a larger headquarters in Leeds city centre.

Hill, who announced the rebrand to AM ahead of the Frontline Solutions’ F&I Conference at Leeds Armouries today, said that the business was aiming for a 300% increase in clients by the end of 2019 as part of ambitious growth plans.

The business plans to move to new premises previously occupied by Google, between New Dock Hall and the location of today’s conference, after outgrowing its current HQ in Wakefield.

And Hill said that the change of name was central to the business’ expansion plans. “The brand equity and goodwill lies with the DealTrak name, that’s what is known to our clients, and it makes life easier and more straightforward to align the business with the brand,” he said. “Put simply, naming the business DealTrak means that it does what it says on the tin.”

Hill said that the business’ rebrand would see a new, more grown-up style to the online resource which links dealers to finance and insurance providers and a simplification of its user interface to benefit new users.

The changes will be phased in over a period of weeks to enable existing customers – they number around 1,000 – familiarise themselves with the changes gradually.

Frontline currently counts the franchised dealer network as its key client base but also works with eight of the top ten independent operators, Hill said, processing around two million finance proposals each year.

He said: “For some lenders in the UK we are responsible for processing a third of their volume. Those transactions add up to billions of pounds.

“In terms of our growth, we have experienced 200% growth over the last two years which is good in terms of bottom-line numbers but is tough in terms of ensuring that we’re adequately resourced. We’ve gone from 11 staff to 33 and we’ll be at 40 within six months.”

Frontline provides IT solutions which can link up the offering of finance and insurance companies with car dealers, potentially offering customers an array of options to fulfil their needs.

A new partnership with ITC Compliance could be key to the business’ future expansion as it strengthens its ability to offer full FCA compliance to its clients.

Hill said: “It’s like Avengers Assemble. We have the best people in the compliance business in ITC backing up our product and further helping to give dealers the comfort of having their finance dealings fully FCA compliant.

“We can demonstrate that we have a history of treating our customers fairly but many dealers do not.

“Many, particularly small and medium-sized businesses might apply to the FCA for their permissions but, because the documentation and evidence doesn’t have to be submitted there are thousands out there who feel they have adequate systems and measures in place but won’t know that they don’t until things go wrong. It’s a ticking bomb.”