Since opening its doors 10 years ago, Fin One Pty Ltd (trading as Finance One) has written almost 20,000 loans for customers, many of whom were excluded by larger financiers. Now, with its new Brisbane office established on the top level of the IBM building close to the city centre, Finance One will be able to help even more customers with its compassionate lending approach.
“We offer the repayment flexibility to be able to set you up for success when times don’t go your way,” says CEO of the McGeachie Group, Jamie McGeachie.
“It’s as simple as that. We will treat you with respect and dignity and work with you over a longer period of time with an affordable payment plan. With Finance One, you know you’ve got a lender who has your back.”
Finance One’s Townsville-based head office has close to a 100-strong team including experts in customer care, loan processing, accounts, IT, analytics and compliance.
“We want to replicate this growth in Brisbane, with the new major-city expansion increasing the talent pool we can draw from,” Jamie says.
“We’ve already on-boarded seven new staff members at our Brisbane office and we’d like to grow that to over 20 within the next year.
“What works really well here in our Townsville office is our culture and we want to re-create that in Brisbane. Here at Finance One, we pride ourselves on being good people with a sense of belonging to an organisation we’re deeply invested in.”
Located at Level 2, 12 Creek Street, the Brisbane office overlooks King Edward Park and is just a short stroll from Central Station.
“It’s all about boosting our processing power,” Jamie enthuses.
“We’ve got a network of over 2,700 finance brokers directing business to us from all over Australia, and we’re committed to processing applications in a timely matter.
“We’re known for that fast-turnaround and when you go through a black-swan event like COVID-19, you want to make sure you’ve got the infrastructure in place to continue to offer that high-level support.”
Finance One is also 100 per cent Australian-owned and based. When you ring the company’s 1800 call centre, you won’t have to wait on hold for 10 minutes. Just select which department you want and a Finance One staff member will pick up the phone and engage with you.
“That’s why we’ve done so well throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and that’s why we’ve grown steadily over the last 10 years,” Jamie says.
“You just can’t beat great customer service.”
As a public company that’s not listed on the stock market, Jamie also emphasises that Finance One is not interested in growth for growth’s sake. Rather, Finance One is focused on steady expansion that continues to provide the level of service the company is known for.
“Ten years ago, we borrowed money from investors for the very first time in order to grow our loan business,” Jamie says.
“That’s allowed us to reach a point where we have over 10,000 active clients and a current loan book of over $190 million dollars. The fact we’ve now opened a Brisbane office will provide further tangibility for our investors.”
Another reason investors, brokers and customers alike are drawn to Finance One and its related entity Finance One Commercial Pty Ltd is because they’re consumer and commercial lenders that offer a broad range of products.
“We’re known as a full-suite lender able to handle anything that falls outside the capabilities of mainstream lenders,” Jamie says.
“While we primarily offer loans to purchase a motor vehicle, our portfolio has grown to include consumer and commercial loans up to $125,000 (certain loans must be asset backed). But whether it’s a personal or business loan we’re offering, our goal remains the same – to empower people through finance.”
And with repeat customers proving to be some of Finance One’s biggest referrers, it’s a focus that works.
