Distribution Finance Capital Holdings (LON: DFCH), trading as DF Capital, said new lending rose 22% to £561m in the quarter to the 30th of September.
The AIM-listed specialist bank lends to dealers and manufacturers in UK retail markets, and published its third-quarter trading update at 7am today.
Origination, meaning new loans written in the period, compares with £460m a year earlier and has passed £1.6bn in the financial year so far. The loan book stood at £929m at the end of the quarter, also up 22% from £759m.
Arrears measures improved slightly. Dealers more than a day in arrears, or in legal recovery, fell to 38 from 43, and arrears plus legal recovery balances were 1.3% of the loan book, against 1.5% a year earlier.
| Measure | Q3 2026 | Q3 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Origination | £561m | £460m |
| Loan book | £929m | £759m |
| Dealers in arrears or legal recovery | 38 | 43 |
| Arrears and legal recovery share | 1.3% | 1.5% |
Legal recovery, where the bank pursues loans through legal action, covered 30 dealers and £12.0m of balances, against 31 dealers and £10.5m a year ago. The company said it had made appropriate impairment provisions, money set aside for expected losses, and held residual asset security.
The caveat is two dealers in the marine and motorcycle sectors that became insolvent, as previously flagged in the interim results to the 30th of June. The group now owns and controls about £27m of their assets pending sale.
DF Capital expects to redistribute or sell most of those assets by the end of the financial year and said it does not expect further credit losses from them.
Asset finance, which lends to consumers and businesses, saw its loan book reach about £78m, almost double its level at the first-half stage, with more than 290 dealers signed up across over 390 retail locations. The bank also launched a direct-to-consumer application portal.
Carl D’Ammassa, chief executive officer, said:
It has been another strong period for the Group, with both inventory and structured finance lending holding strong, complemented by significant momentum building in asset finance which has seen our loan book in that segment almost double during the quarter.
Carl D’Ammassa, Chief Executive Officer
D’Ammassa said the group takes a cautious view of the macro-economic and geo-political backdrop and is focused on credit risk discipline and its hold on underlying asset security. The company said it remains on track to meet market expectations for the full year.
