About

First Response Finance: An award-winning, fast paying, and flexible sub-prime finance company

Who are First Response Finance?

We are an award-winning finance company based in Nottingham with two other offices in Leigh and Glasgow. Over the last twenty years, we’ve specialised in sub-prime vehicle finance and have earned a reputation in the motor trade for being among the best in the industry.

With flexible underwriting criteria, an award-winning service, fast pay-outs, and an easy and simple to use dealer portal, we have helped thousands of motor dealers sell more cars, bikes and vans on finance to their sub-prime customers.

Specialists in sub-prime vehicle finance

specialists in sub-prime finance

As specialists in sub-prime vehicle finance, we have over twenty years’ experience in financing customers with less-than-perfect credit. Our in-depth understanding of the challenges faced by these customers allows us to provide tailored financing solutions. By partnering with First Response Finance, motor dealers can offer a broader range of financing options, and help them sell more vehicles to more customers.

Non-Prime finance customers

We understand that some customers fall into a credit grey area due to 1 or 2 missed payments or very minor credit issues, making them ineligible for prime rates from certain lenders. These types of customers are sometimes referred to as non-prime. It can be can be confusing and even difficult to know which finance companies to send these customers' applications to. That's where we step in, as we can provide finance for customers in the non-prime category too, often offering better rates and support.

Our flexible sub-prime underwriting criteria

We understand that each customer's financial situation is different. We understand that to underwrite customers who may have had credit issues in the past, we need our underwriters to be flexible in their approach.

Fixed criteria

Aged 18+
UK resident
Petrol maximum mileage: 120,000 miles
Diesel maximum mileage: 160,000 miles

Flexible criteria

18 - 61 month terms
No deposit required
£2,000 - £15,000 lend
Provisional driving licenses considered

Under 21 Criteria

£2000 - £7000 lend
Maximum mileage - 120,000 miles
Maximum Age of Vehicle - 12 years
All Fuel Types considered
4x4s, Bikes and Vans excluded
Maximum Engine Size = 2000 CC / 2.0 litre
Self-employed require 3 months proof of income
Up to insurance group 10

Due to our flexible underwriting criteria, we can finance a wide range of cars, bikes and vans for sub-prime customers. This flexibility means our dealer partners can sell more cars, bikes and vans on finance to more customers, especially those customers who may have been declined by other lenders. In one of our existing blogs we discuss how our flexibility will help you sell more.

One of the fastest paying sub-prime finance companies

In an industry where timing is everything, we are one of the fastest paying sub-prime finance companies. Our efficient processes and streamlined dealer portal, means we can pay out deals in less than 15 minutes once we have received all the documentation that we need. This speed benefits both our dealer partners and customers, allowing dealers to close deals quickly and customers to drive away in the vehicle they want much faster!

The power of the First Response Finance Dealer Portal

First Response Finance Dealer Portal


The First Response Finance Dealer Portal is a powerful tool designed to make sub-prime finance easy for our dealer partners. The First Response Finance login is accessible through our dealersite, and offers a range of invaluable resources and features which include, instant decisions, real-time application updates, free customer leads, document uploader, and with instant chat on hand to assist you if you still have any questions. Our Dealer Portal page has a more detailed overview of the benefits that you and your dealership maybe missing out on!

Our staff, dealer partners and customers have voted us an award-winning company

We have established ourselves as an award-winning finance company and one of the leaders in sub-prime finance in the motor trade. Our customers have voted us as the top-rated finance company on Review Centre, and our dealer partners have consistently recognized us as a top-rated finance company. We have won 11 'Sub-Prime Finance Provider of the Year' awards in Car Dealer Power Awards since 2011, and we recently received the same award for 2023.

An award-winning company

In addition, we have been featured in the Best Companies Survey since 2011, where our staff rates us highly as an employer and provides valuable feedback for improvement to our business. When you partner with us, you can be sure that you and your customers are in safe hands.

Partner with us

Partner with us

If you want to work with one of the best sub-prime finance companies in the UK, First Response Finance is here for you. Our flexible criteria, award-winning service, and consistent recognition from the industry, we are the go-to sub-prime finance company in the motor trade that you can trust.

Partner with us and experience the difference of working with the best subprime finance lenders, dedicated to helping you and your dealership get more deals over the line. If you don’t currently work with First Response Finance and would like to discuss how we can help you and your sub-prime customers, click the relevant button below, and Brad from our team will be in touch to discuss how we can help you sell more cars on finance.

Partner with us            Arrange a call back            Message us on WhatsApp             Call us today  

Help and assistance for our dealer partners

Our blogs provide our dealers with guides, tips and articles from around the industry. Some of our most recent blogs discuss how to audit your dealerships' energy usage, The FCA Consumer Duty, a social media guide for dealers, how to sell more vehicles on finance and many more that can be found on our blog page.

Check out our blogs today and see how they can assist you and your dealership save money and sell more.

our new websiteAccelerate your motorbike sales

Since opening our doors in Nottingham in 1998, we've established ourselves as a trusted lender in sub-prime finance.

our new websiteIntroducing our new dealer website: Everything you need in one place

We're excited to announce the launch of our new dealer website, designed to make things easier for our valued dealer partners.

an award winning companyAn award-winning company

Part of our ethos here at First Response Finance is People-Service-Profit. We believe in putting our dealers and customers at the heart of everything we do.

social media guide for dealersA guide to social media for dealers

So, you have social media accounts setup for your dealership, but remain frustrated because what you post never seems to get any comments, likes, or draw much business in.