Financing luxury cars is more than just a job – it’s a passion

According to the Chinese calendar, 2021 was the Year of the Ox. But if we denoted years by cars, not animals, what car would you say best suits last year? I reckon it was the Year of the Ferrari F40. As a child of the ’80s, I’ve always had a soft spot for the 478bhp Pininfarina-designed supercar unveiled in 1987 to celebrate the Cavallino Rampante’s 40th anniversary. But the lag from the 2.9-litre engine’s twin turbochargers is, of course, notorious.

You press the accelerator and there’s nothing, nothing, nothing. And then bang! For us at JBR Capital, 2021 felt precisely like that. With restrictions beginning to ease on car buying, we hit the metaphoric throttle pedal hard from the start of March. There was a wait… then the world just exploded. And it hasn’t let up. I’ve written about the business aspect in my previous column, but for everyone at JBR Capital, it truly isn’t just about the finance side of things. We started the company because, like our clients, we all love cars. We could lend on yachts. We could lend on aircraft. We could probably even lend on works of art. But we don’t. Why not? Because, like our customers, we’re passionate about cars. And we know cars. We firmly believe that, as an asset, we understand them better than anyone else in the finance market.

But we’d be the first to admit there is always more to learn. And that’s why it’s so essential for us to get out there in the supercar, luxury and high performance car community and meet our clients. And it’s why it was such a buzz to be able to do that from spring onwards this year.

Speaking to our clients and getting to see the cars in the metal we have helped fund is a privilege. That’s why our relationship with Supercar Driver (SCD) is so meaningful and why we were delighted to sign a new agreement extending the partnership for another three years.

SCD’s events provide a conduit for us to liaise with many of our clients in a single day. My highlight was the SCD Michelin Secret Meet at Donington in August, where we were greeted with an almost endless sea of machinery, each boasting stunning looks and nigh on 400bhp. And that was just the car park. We look forward to meeting more people out on the road throughout 2022.

I’d like to thank all our clients who have taken out financial agreements with JBR Capital throughout 2021. I’d like to express my gratitude as well to all our introducers for a great year. I’d also like to thank our partners at SCD. I certainly enjoyed their final event of the season at Supersonic Sunday in the Concorde hangar at Manchester airport, where guest speakers included Ben Collins. Regaling SCD members with tales of the Ferrari F40, the former BBC Top Gear Stig said: ‘The Ferrari F40 is the most primitive car I have ever driven. The turbo lag is phenomenal but I love it.’ My sentiments exactly.