INTERVIEW DRIVING AMBITION Sean Feast FCICM speaks to Dave Timmis, founder of Leasing.com, about the resurgence in leasing’s share of private new car finance. DAVE Timmis started selling classified advertising space on the Warrington Guardian <strong>and</strong> is today the founder <strong>and</strong> creator of Leasing.com, the country’s largest car leasing comparison website. He is also one of the UK’s leading advocates of leasing as a financing tool: “John Paul Getty said if it appreciates, buy it, if it depreciates, lease it,” Dave laughs. It is now more than 20 years ago that Dave first came up with the idea of harnessing the internet to offer leasing deals in real time: “Even with the dot com crash happening around us I had a hunch, a bit of a gut feeling, that the internet might take off! It’s easy to look back now <strong>and</strong> think that, but to me the niche marketing opportunities that the internet offered just made sense. It was easy to find a website that provided exactly what products or services you were looking for from the comfort of your own home or desk. “What really struck me as a great idea was to be able to advertise car leasing offers in real time to people that were interested in leasing cars (as opposed to buying). The car leasing market was really quite small then, <strong>and</strong> more focussed on company car users, very time sensitive <strong>and</strong> niche. But that was the point. Time sensitive <strong>and</strong> niche was what was needed. “Many of the consumer car magazines had literally dozens <strong>and</strong> dozens of pages of ads from brokers <strong>and</strong> dealers all advertising car leasing offers, but it was all out of date by the time it was printed. That was no good for anyone, <strong>and</strong> that’s how the idea of Leasing.com came about.” SIMPLE CONCEPT Dave started the site (initially called ContractHireAndLeasing.com) in 2000, <strong>and</strong> it has since grown to become the largest of its kind, perhaps five or six times the size of its nearest competitor, according to some estimates. The concept is simple: the site aggregates <strong>and</strong> compares all of the best car <strong>and</strong> van leasing deals from brokers, main dealers, funders <strong>and</strong> manufacturers. This, Dave believes, is what gives it its appeal: “Nowhere else attracts the audience volume that we do or compares offers from the breadth of partners that we do,” he says. “Leasing.com enables consumers to find the best deals, then enquire or apply online through our platform. For our advertising partners, we enable them to sell more cars by putting leasing offers in-front of a huge in-market audience of consumers looking for what they are offering.” The business has grown organically, <strong>and</strong> in 2019 launched the new Leasing.com br<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> website. It was supported by a ‘say goodbye to buying’ media campaign, with the business positioning itself as the car leasing experts, <strong>and</strong> with a vision of being the market-leading, trusted champion of car leasing. So what makes leasing such an attractive proposition in comparison to outright purchase or Personal Contract Purchase (PCP)? “Leasing a new car gives certainty, eliminates residual/future value risk, <strong>and</strong> most importantly is usually the most cost-effective method of funding your new car for the duration of the lease,” Dave claims, “which is usually between two <strong>and</strong> four years. With leasing you are only funding the car depreciation <strong>and</strong> not the whole purchase or financing cost with additional interest applied.” Dave says that leasing also enables customers to take advantage of the bulk discounts <strong>and</strong> other financial incentives applied that individual consumers cannot access: “Fixed cost, peace of mind motoring in a new car, under warranty, driving the latest model, with road tax included for the duration <strong>and</strong> a new car every few years?” he says. “What isn’t there to like?” STRAIGHT TALKING Dave is straight in that he would never say leasing is always the best option, but it usually is. “By way of an example my own car, an Audi Q7, has almost lost more in one year of depreciation than the total lease cost for two years! The same car (new) on a PCP was significantly more expensive. Dealers were offering three plus year-old (used) now facelifted Q7’s for about the same or more on PCP than I’m paying to lease.” From how Dave talks, one would imagine the market for leasing is growing. And you’d be right. While lending across all products fell in 2020, leasing’s share of private new car finance actually grew from 11.6 to 13.1 percent. That’s not to say the market isn’t without its challenges, though Dave thinks COVID has simply accelerated a number of trends that were evident already. “Consumers have definitely become more frugal, cost conscious <strong>and</strong> want value for money,” Dave says. “Cars are most people’s second biggest expense. The p<strong>and</strong>emic has made everyone assess their situation <strong>and</strong> look at costs. Most of us will always want <strong>and</strong> need a car. Lower mileage deals on great value leasing offers will always be a hit with consumers. Affordable monthly payments work for everyone. They keep manufacturers production lines rolling <strong>and</strong> enable consumers to afford new, fuel efficient cars with the latest tech.” Dave believes that if the deals are there, then the consumers are there: “Even in the middle of the p<strong>and</strong>emic, between last May <strong>and</strong> Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / <strong>July</strong> & <strong>August</strong> <strong>2021</strong> / PAGE 12
INTERVIEW AUTHOR – Sean Feast FCICM “Cars are most people’s second biggest expense. The p<strong>and</strong>emic has made everyone assess their situation <strong>and</strong> look at costs. Most of us will always want <strong>and</strong> need a car.’’ Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / <strong>July</strong> & <strong>August</strong> <strong>2021</strong> / PAGE 13 continues on page 14 >
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