What Lombard does

Lombard North Central PLC is the UK's largest asset finance provider and a wholly-owned subsidiary of NatWest Group, operating under the trading name Lombard. Founded in 1861 as North Central Wagon Co, Lombard finances vehicles, machinery, equipment, technology, marine vessels, aircraft, and renewable energy assets for UK businesses, with a wholesale funding platform extending to OEMs across 28 EEA countries. Its core product set spans Hire Purchase, Business Contract Hire, Finance Lease, Residual Value Lease, and Chattel Loan with Mortgage, complemented by specialist offerings such as Wholesale Finance (approximately £1.5 billion vehicle funding portfolio), Unit Stocking Finance for specialist asset dealers, Technology Finance via Rigby Capital and SCC, and EV Salary Sacrifice through LeasePlan UK.

The business operates a multi-channel distribution model combining dedicated industry-specialist relationship managers, phone and live chat sales support, and a self-serve digital layer (My Lombard portal) that handles 95% of settlement, clearance, and document requests within 2-4 hours. Customers range from sole traders and SMEs to enterprise fleet operators and dealer groups, with notable deals including £150 million to Harris Maxus and a historical £395 million Virgin Rail trains financing. Revenue is generated through interest spreads, arrangement fees, option-to-purchase fees, and early settlement charges across the asset finance book.

Strategic emphasis is shifting toward fleet electrification, sustainable asset finance, and SME digital origination, evidenced by the EV Readiness Assessment (built with Diode), Carbon Planner tool, McCain regenerative agriculture partnership, and the Simply Asset Finance digital lending alliance. The company is FCA-regulated (no. 710598) and competes on its 160-year brand heritage, NatWest Group balance sheet, and scale-driven UK market leadership.

Name

Lombard

Legal name

Lombard North Central PLC

Website

https://lombard.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1861

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

Lombard is the UK's largest asset finance provider and a NatWest Group subsidiary, financing vehicles, equipment, machinery, and specialist assets for UK businesses through Hire Purchase, leasing, and wholesale funding spanning 28 EEA countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Asset Finance

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394), Other Financial Investment Activities (5239)

SIC

National Commercial Banks (6021)

akta.pro primary industry

Fleet & Commercial Vehicle Finance (FSAKADAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Wealth Lending & Credit Solutions (Lombard/Margin, Mortgages, Structured Credit) (FSAAABAG)

Keywords

• Asset finance
• Hire purchase
• Business vehicle leasing
• Wholesale stock finance
• Specialist asset lending

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Asset Finance Interest and Fees: Lombard generates revenue through interest charges on asset finance agreements including Hire Purchase, Finance Lease, Contract Hire, Residual Value Lease, and Chattel Loans. Revenue is earned from spreading the cost of assets over agreed terms, with fees including arrangement fees, option to purchase fees, and early settlement charges.
2. Wholesale Finance: Provides on-demand credit facilities secured against individual units of stock for car/van dealer groups and specialist asset dealers. Revenue generated from interest on wholesale funding lines provided to dealers and manufacturers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Lombard is the UK's largest asset finance provider, offering Hire Purchase, Contract Hire, Finance Lease, Residual Value Lease, and Chattel Loan with Mortgage solutions to UK businesses acquiring vehicles, machinery, technology, agricultural equipment, marine vessels, aircraft, and renewable energy assets. It also provides wholesale stocking finance to car/van dealer groups, manufacturers, and OEMs, supported by the My Lombard digital account platform for self-serve management.

Product overview

Lombard is the UK's largest asset finance provider offering a diversified portfolio of financing solutions across multiple asset categories. The core offering consists of Hire Purchase and Business Contract Hire products, supplemented by Chattel Loan with Mortgage, various Lease structures (Finance Lease, Residual Value Lease), and specialist products including Wholesale Finance, Technology Finance, Aviation Finance, Marine Finance, and Renewable Energy Finance. The company also provides digital tools including the My Lombard online portal and sustainability-focused tools such as EV Readiness Assessment and Carbon Planner. These products serve diverse sectors including vehicles, agriculture, manufacturing, healthcare, and specialist assets through a network of strategic partnerships including ALD Automotive and LeasePlan.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Hire Purchase Asset finance product where customers acquire an asset and spread the cost with fixed or variable monthly payments, with optional balloon payments, transferring ownership after the final payment and option fee. Available across cars, vans, commercial vehicles, machinery, agricultural equipment, technology, healthcare, aviation, and marine assets.
• Business Contract Hire Operating lease for new vehicles with fixed monthly rentals, vehicle sourcing included, and the option to upgrade every 2-4 years subject to mileage and condition terms. Available for business cars and vans.
• Chattel Loan with Mortgage Flexible funding with longer repayment periods where title transfers immediately and the asset serves as security; capital repayment holidays may be available. Used for aircraft and other high-value assets.
• Finance Lease Finance product where Lombard purchases the asset and rents it to the customer with no large initial outlay; the customer can continue leasing for an annual rental after the primary finance term ends. VAT and lease rental charges may be recoverable.
• Residual Value Lease Lease product with rentals tailored to cash flow needs that protect the customer from asset depreciation risk, deferring a portion of the asset cost to a balloon payment at the end of term.
• Wholesale Finance On-demand credit facility secured against individual units of stock for independent dealers and manufacturers, with automated daily funding feeds from dealer management systems and multi-currency support across 28 EEA countries.
• Unit Stocking Finance On-demand credit facility for funding new, used, demonstrator, and short-term hire units across specialist asset industries including motorhomes, caravans, agriculture, and groundscare.
• Technology Finance Asset finance for PCs, laptops, monitors, mobile devices, data centres, servers, printers, and 3D printers, delivered through partnerships with Rigby Capital and SCC for end-to-end IT lifecycle solutions.
• Aviation Finance Asset finance solutions for aircraft, including Hire Purchase and Chattel Loan with Mortgage for private and business jets.
• Marine Finance Finance solutions for leisure and commercial marine vessels, including yachts and powerboats.
• Renewable Energy Finance Finance for sustainable assets including solar panels, wind turbines, combined heat and power systems, air source heat pumps, biomass boilers, battery storage, and LED lighting.
• Vehicle Finance Finance solutions for business cars, vans, commercial vehicles, and heavy goods vehicles through Hire Purchase and Contract Hire options.
• Agricultural Equipment Finance Specialist funding for agricultural equipment including Finance Lease, Hire Purchase, Residual Value Lease, and Sale and Leaseback options for poultry farmers, fruit growers, and vertical farms.
• Healthcare Equipment Finance Tailored financing solutions for healthcare equipment with flexible Hire Purchase, Finance Lease, and Residual Value Lease options.
• Electric Vehicle Salary Sacrifice Scheme Employee benefit allowing staff to drive electric vehicles with fixed monthly costs deducted from salary before tax and National Insurance, provided through LeasePlan UK Limited and available to businesses with over 250 eligible employees.
• Sale and Leaseback Asset finance structure where a business sells an existing owned asset to Lombard and simultaneously leases it back, releasing tied-up capital while retaining use of the asset.

Quantifiable outcome

• 95% of settlement, clearance, and document requests completed within 2-4 hours during business hours
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• Simply Asset FinancecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 April 2026Partnership to expand lending to small and medium-sized businesses in the UK. Collaboration involves utilizing Lombard's wholesale facility and Simply's digital lending platform including AI support to reach a broader SME customer base.
• ALD AutomotivecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartnership with ALD Automotive, a specialist in vehicle leasing operating in more than 43 countries. Delivers insights, tools and solutions for businesses looking to maintain or grow fleet operations as the economy decarbonizes.
• McCain FoodsflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint initiative to reduce financial barriers for potato farmers transitioning to sustainable agricultural practices. Lombard offers additional financial support while McCain contributes towards interest payable for assets supporting regenerative agriculture.
• Rigby Capital and SCCcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration providing as-a-service technology solution giving businesses access to end-to-end IT solutions while reducing environmental impact involved in disposal and refresh of electronic devices.
• DiodecoreTechnology or IntegrationPartnership with Diode, a UK-based technology company, to pilot the EV Planner offering. The free tool helps businesses plan electric vehicle transitions by providing replacement recommendations, cost savings estimates, and CO2 savings analysis.
• AbsolarminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership to provide comprehensive solar savings estimates and installation cost reports. Absolar has over 10 years of experience in renewable energy services including assessments, consultancy, design and installations.
• EmissisminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership with voltage optimisation hardware provider. Emissis manufactures and installs technology that helps businesses reduce energy costs and emissions by adjusting incoming voltage. Offers 10% discount on VO hardware for Lombard customers.
• D-CAT (D-Cat)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership with satellite technology experts who help businesses explore renewable energy generation potential. Provides quick initial solar potential reports using remote site analysis technology.
• CredendominorGTM or Marketing PartnerCredendo operates via partnerships including with Lombard for trade credit insurance covering Africa, Middle East, Southeast Asia, and South America regions.
• LeasePlan UK LimitedcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLeasePlan provides the EV Salary Sacrifice Scheme product solution for Lombard Vehicle Solutions (LVS). ALD Automotive acts as introducer to LeasePlan, with LVS being a product provided by ALD for Lombard.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Close Brothers Asset Finance: Close Brothers Asset Finance is a major UK asset finance provider, directly competing with Lombard across vehicles, equipment, and refinancing for SMEs and mid-market businesses. Highly comparable in product set and target customer base.
• Aldermore Asset Finance: Aldermore is a UK challenger bank with a sizable asset finance division focused on SMEs, vehicles, and equipment. Direct competitor to Lombard in the UK hire purchase and leasing market with similar mid-market orientation.

Broad incumbents

• Tokyo Century (formerly CVI/Century Tokyo Leasing): Tokyo Century is a Japanese global leasing major with strong aviation, container, and equipment leasing operations. Comparable to Lombard on aviation and marine asset finance but with global institutional investor funding base.
• DLL (De Lage Landen): DLL is a global vendor finance and leasing company covering equipment, agriculture, food, healthcare, and mobility. Comparable to Lombard on multi-asset finance but with global reach and stronger vendor finance model.
• BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions: BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions is a major European asset finance provider with broad sector coverage (transport, agriculture, construction, IT). Comparable to Lombard in product breadth but operates pan-European with deeper continental presence.
• Siemens Financial Services: Siemens Financial Services provides asset and vendor finance globally, with strength in industrial equipment, energy, and healthcare technology. Comparable to Lombard's equipment finance arm but anchored to Siemens-manufactured assets and broader emerging markets.
• Macquarie Asset Finance: Macquarie provides asset finance across aviation, rail, vehicles, and infrastructure. Directly comparable to Lombard on large-ticket specialist asset deals (e.g., rolling stock like the Virgin Rail financing), with global institutional reach.
• HSBC UK Asset Finance: HSBC operates asset finance as part of its broader commercial banking franchise in the UK and globally. Comparable to Lombard on large-ticket transactions (e.g., rolling stock, aviation, marine) but with much wider banking capabilities.
• Barclays Asset Finance: Barclays offers asset finance solutions to UK corporate and SME clients as part of its larger commercial bank. Competes with Lombard across vehicle and equipment finance but operates within a much wider financial services portfolio.

Emerging players

• Simply Asset Finance: Simply Asset Finance is a UK digital-native asset finance platform using AI-enabled origination, recently partnering with Lombard for SME lending. Represents the digital-first challenger model that is reshaping UK asset finance origination.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/lombardaf

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments13 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Lombard