Specialist UK lender SU has said that trading was in line with expectations for the first half of the year, and that it has a stable and expanding customer base, making it confident about how well it will do for the rest of 2010.

SU specialises in providing car finance and consumer credit to sub-prime and non-prime customers, the former under the ‘Advantage Finance’ brand. The company has stated that its motor finance business had an excellent start to the year, with revenues up by nearly a quarter, as well as improving margins and forward orders. It highlighted that financial strength and good cash flow was due to a strong trading performance. In the first half of 2010, it paid off debts of GBP4 million and lowered its overall borrowings.

The company felt that its attention to detail and close relationships with customers, as well as keeping a tight on rein on expenses, helped bring about the good figures. Anthony Coombs, chairman of SU, said Improving standards and our current trading both inspire confidence for the future.

The company added that Our current trading, stable and expanding customer base and a stable regulatory environment under a new government, as well as a balanced and benign OFT High Cost Credit Review, all make for optimism for the current year's outturn.