Financial services provider Thorn Group Financial Services, whose brands include dtr and Thorn, is merging with vehicle management software firm Limelight Software.
Limelight Software provides vehicle management programming including a dealership management system for 600 dealers throughout New Zealand. Photo: 123rf / Katarzyna Bialasiewicz Photographee.eu
The merged fintech company will be called Limelight Group and provide integrated software, finance and finance-associated services directly to customers and Limelight's dealer channel.
Thorn's parent company Fox Group already held a minority stake in Limelight, which operated the Motorcentral, Need A Car and BuyerScore brands, since 2018.
Motorcentral offered dealership management system (DMS) software as as service to more than 600 independent dealers throughout New Zealand and managed more than $2.5 billion worth of vehicle sales each year.
Thorn Financial Services chief executive Mark Spring will lead the merged Limelight Group.
"Our two organisations have cooperated effectively since 2018 and grown our vehicle finance business by more than 60 percent year-on-year by responding rapidly to emerging opportunities in a fragmented market," Spring said.
"Having seen the growth we have achieved to date as partners with a minority shareholding, we know we can grow the opportunity exponentially as a single entity."
The integration, including re-branding the group company as Limelight Group, will be carried out over the next two months while the transition plan is enacted.
Details about the value of the merger were not disclosed.
