Veteran financier Roger Kirwan has carved out another niche in the lending world.
His Newport Beach-based Woodside Credit offers loans to buyers of classic and exotic cars. Think Bentleys, Ferraris and Lamborghinis.
“The car world is changing,” Kirwan said.
Since starting Woodside in 2003, Kirwan said the business is growing and is on pace to make 1,300 to 1,500 loans this year.
The Business Journal estimates Woodside does about $175 million in loans a year.
Demand for classic and exotic cars has grown as luxury brands such as BMW and Mercedes have become more commonplace, according to Kirwan.
“They’re not as unique as they once were,” he said.
What turns heads are cars with price tags that start at more than $100,000 and run into the millions. That’s Woodside’s niche.
Kirwan first made his mark financing recreational vehicles and boats.
In 1980, he started Ganis Credit, which worked with RV and boat dealers to finance purchases. Ganis was sold to BankBoston in 1995, and then traded hands to Deutsche Bank AG and later E-Trade Financial Corp. before becoming part of General Electric Co.’s GE Money.
People still are getting RV and boat loans through Ganis.
Kirwan stayed with Ganis until about 2000.
More recently, he’s played a key role at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, serving as co-chair of the fund-raising campaign for the center’s recent expansion.
Kirwan had a hand in the center’s issuing of tax-exempt bonds to pay for construction of the Ren & #233;e and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall.
He said he started Woodside after seeing a need for upscale car financing.
Kirwan named the business after his hometown in New York. There are about 20 employees.
As with Ganis, Woodside offers longer-term loans.
Normal auto loans run for about five years. Woodside offers a 12-year loan, making monthly payments more affordable.
The average loan size for Woodside is about $125,000. Most come from California, Florida and Texas.
Woodside’s loans bankroll two basic types of purchases, according to Executive Vice President Mark Schechter.
For people leasing exotic cars,newer cars with large price tags,the loans are billed as a better alternative.
A lease on a $180,000 car, say, a 2007 Bentley GT, could cost someone about $2,800 per month. With Woodside, the buyer pays about $1,900, according to Schechter.
“I put out ads that say ‘Lease Not Waste Not,'” he said.
For those buying classic cars,older cars that are worth a lot,the attraction is being able to do so with “someone else’s money.”
Borrowers could put their own cash to better use, Schechter said.
Woodside competes with leasing companies and home equity loans, “but who wants to risk their home to buy a toy?” Schechter said.
The company lends based on the credit worthiness of the buyers rather than the cars, according to Schechter.
Woodside’s wealthy borrowers have better credit than the average auto buyer, he said.
“These are luxuries to have,” he said. “We’re loaning on a hobby.”
Kirwan learned his way around the classic and exotic car financing business in the late 1990s as a partial owner of Chatham, Mass.-based J.J. Best, a competitor to Woodside today.
The General
Before starting Woodside, he said he looked into whether there was enough business out there to support a high-end car financier.
A friend and renowned car collector, Gen. William Lyon, assured him the business was there, Kirwan said. Lyon’s collection is estimated at more than $200 million.
Lyon is a partner in Woodside.
“I bring a good reputation in banking, he brings a good reputation for the market,” Kirwan said.
Woodside also taps Lyon for input on appraisals, he said.
“If you want an appraisal on a 1932 Duesenberg, Lyon could provide that where the National Auto Dealers Association catalog can’t,” Schechter said.
Kirwan said he has a couple of high-end cars. He said he prefers to drive his Ferrari 360 Spyder.
“I get in and out of it with a smile,” he said.
Kirwan said he’s open to looking at other areas of consumer finance.
“As soon as I’ve conquered everything in the space I’m in I’ll look for something else,” he said.
