Northridge Finance has achieved a year of record growth following the acquisition of Marshall Leasing, lending £1.1bn and increasing its funded fleet to 8,000 vehicles.

The business reported profit before taxation of £173 million (up from £151million in 2017) for the twelve months ended December 31, 2018.

James McGee, managing director of Northridge Finance, said: “2018 was a fantastic year for Northridge. We have seen superb growth in a challenging market environment.

“We are continuing to see strong used car values across the market and while there is a growing appetite for finance on electric cars, we have seen no significant downturn in the demand for used diesel vehicles.”

Northridge acquired Marshall Leasing in November 2017. Since then it has increased the company’s funded fleet by 16% to 8,000 vehicles.

McGee added: “This is our first full financial year with Marshall Leasing. Both businesses are customer-centric, and the cultural fit has been one of the real strengths of the acquisition.

"We are able to offer products through Northridge and Marshall Leasing channels, affinity schemes and via partnerships with intermediary networks.

"We have seen an increase in business of 31%, strengthened our long term relationships and have grown our network of retailers."

Through new and long-term relationships, Northridge says it has been able to fund a broader range of deals.

In 2018, the company extended its eSign capability and says it will continue to increase automation on its credit score system this year - building on the success of the Go365 app, which helps dealers keep track of cases while on the forecourt.