Direct Capital announced that its growth continued in 2012. The company, which provides equipment leasing, loans, and working capital to main street businesses and franchisees grew by 43% with more than $330 million delivered to small businesses.
The company, which is celebrating its 20th year in business, credited its success last year to a deep focus on customer experience, key expansions to its business lending products, large growth in new vendor and franchise relationships, and the re-engineering of its lending processes through technology.
“2012 saw the beginning of our next transformation as a company,” said Chief Executive Officer James Broom, who has led the company to growth in 19 of its 20 years. “We've always focused on mastering the way capital is accessed and delivered to small businesses. To achieve that goal, we have re-engineered the company at least seven times.
Only two things have remained constant, our deep bench of very talented and committed people and the strong performance of our portfolio. So, it still feels like a start-up every day and we love that.”
Broom cited the company’s 2012 growth in repeat business as an important signal that its process improvements and customer experience focus were well received. “Volume from our existing customer base grew by 50% and that tells us they really like what they are experiencing,” said Broom.
The company also earned a 10-percentage point increase to its Net Promoter Score (NPS) – an industry leading customer satisfaction metric. Direct Capital’s NPS increased to 59 versus a financial industry average of 23, according to Broom.
Broom expressed confidence about the company’s future. “While our growth rate last year is admirable, we tempered it in order to make several strategic enhancements we believe will have a significant market impact in the years to come,” said Broom. “We know the forms of capital small businesses need and as they grow as digital citizens – we are there to exceed both their needs and expectations.”
Direct Capital’s continued commitment to helping others was another big highlight in 2012. “Every time we provide a loan to a small business, we also make a donation to a charity,” said Broom. “Between that effort and our weekly employee-driven charity efforts we continue to foster a charitable culture that is both humbling and inspiring.”
Broom said 2013 is off to a good start. “Generally, there is post-holiday spending malaise and demand builds gradually in the following year, but we’re not seeing that,” he said. “It almost feels like December, not January, and that’s a great sign for the small business economy.”
Established in 1993, Direct Capital provides financing for small- to mid-ticket equipment, franchise remodels and technology purchases, working capital, and business loans. The company is headquartered in Portsmouth, N.H. and operates offices in New York, California, and Georgia.