MotoNovo Finance: Who we are

MotoNovo Finance is one of the largest lenders in the UK used car finance market. Here at MotoNovo we are proud of our culture, and place trust, integrity, and teamwork at the heart of what we do. It’s what makes us unique, and is part of our success.

MotoNovians are a diverse bunch who have several things in common - we are committed and motivated, but are also well rewarded and know how to have fun! When you join us, you will become part of a business which values you as an individual and believes that you will make an incredible contribution to the growth of our business.

Located in One Central Square, at the heart of Cardiff City Centre, we have provided our employees with a first class working environment, designed to enhance creativity. As we grow, we are on the look-out for more talented and ambitious individuals to join our enthusiastic team, and help us in continuing to drive forward through innovation and change.

Culture & values

We have four shared values that are embedded throughout all that we do:

Customer comes first

People as individuals

Quality in all we do

Profitable growth

Our history

1972 | MotoNovo Finance was founded as Carlyle Finance in Cardiff, South Wales, by Sir Julian Hodge.

2000 | Under new leadership, the business set about a major change programme with a clear vision to become the UK’s leading independent motor finance business. An absolute focus on dealer finance, a real entrepreneurial spirit, and a willingness to embrace change and innovation enabled the company to grow in scale, reputation and profitability. At a time of exits and consolidations in the independent finance sector, we continued to win friends amongst the dealer community.

2006 | WesBank, South Africa's leading car finance company, acquired the business.

2008 | The Banking Crisis presented an opportunity for Carlyle Finance to grow out of even the darkest days. The concept of inch by inch improvement inspired the business to celebrate customer service, the small wins, and operating with integrity.

2011 | Just as bankers were being let back into public trust, the PPI scandal gripped the UK. Yet again, mistrust and dishonesty plagued the financial markets and banks were back out in the cold with the British public. We saw the opportunity and pushed forward with a way of making PPI very customer friendly and continued to sell it profitably.

2012 | Carlyle Finance rebrands as MotoNovo Finance. After years of galvanising success, the rebrand helps distinguish the company from its competitors as a driving force for change in the industry, helping dealers connect with customers to sell more cars and more finance in a challenging market. The MotoNovo brand fully embraces its Latin translation, where ‘moto’ means ‘moving, driving forward’ and ‘novo’ means ‘refresh, renew, innovate, change’.

2014 | Our quest to take position as one of the UK’s top performing finance companies was achieved when MotoNovo became third place market position.

2016 | We moved to our new headquarters at One Central Square, in the heart of Cardiff City Centre.

2017 | MotoNovo achieved second place market position, displacing Santander, and continued to expand across the UK and Northern Ireland.

2018 | MotoNovo launched findandfundmycar.com, a disruptor platform promising to deliver ‘feel good car buying and selling’ through a seamless digital journey for customers and dealers. Our parent company FirstRand acquired British retail bank, Aldermore, beginning the integration process. We also launched the MotoNovo Commercial division, providing business-specific products and dedicated consultants to commercial customers.

2019 | MotoNovo takes another big step in its continuing journey, trading as MotoNovo Finance Limited, part of the Aldermore Group. By combining with Aldermore we will now be able to unlock even more potential in delivering for our dealers and customers. We’re looking forward to the next stage of our exciting journey as part of the Aldermore group.