The new sales director of State Securities discusses
life in subprime and the importance of factoring
Go deeper with GlobalData
Access deeper industry intelligence
Experience unmatched clarity with a single platform that combines unique data, AI, and human expertise.
Four months later, Hutchings, who replaced the
famous Andrew Bullard in his role of sales and marketing director,
assures all is well under control, that the asset finance
specialist is as healthy as ever and that it intends to stay
focused on doing what it has been good at for almost 30 years.
Its business model is based on lending to
subprime clients, and building strong relationships with a number
of key brokers, which has always been State Securities’ “chosen
route” to market.
“Essentially, our target will continue to be
challenged credit situations and refinance including buy-ins and
buy-outs, using the same products, that are HP and factoring,”
Hutchings said.
If there is to be any change, according to
Hutchings, it will be putting more effort into factoring
capability, which is expected to help the company “tremendously”
over the next 12-18 months.
“We have got a very efficient factoring
operation, and we have the record of never having lost a client
because of service deficiencies,” he added. “We will put more
efforts into growing that book, but are also being cautious,
because we are anxious to protect our business and grow
safely.”
The other priority, Hutchings said, is to
continue to access new business via intermediaries.
During the last 18 months, while many leasing
companies pulled out of broker-introduced business, State
Securities has remained committed to brokers.
Hutchings said: “We will be putting more
efforts into developing our relationships with our key introductory
sources, and focus on those brokers that have a natural fit with
our business.”
With his own professional background,
Hutchings is expected to contribute to this and to the company’s
growth.
His experience within asset finance has
spanned three decades, from a branch management position at the old
Lloyds & Scottish company, to becoming an executive manager and
then regional director for the London and south east with Lloyds
Bowmaker.
For the same company, he also managed the
whole of the back-office operation, and then became sales and
marketing director, managing eight regional offices.
He also ran his own specialist consultancy, BL
Solutions, working with well-known names in the asset finance
industry including Barclays, Lloyds TSB, Fortis, Bank of Ireland
and, of course, State Securities.
