Mark Smith, Managing Director and Founder of The Car Finance Company, was last night presented with the "2011 Lender Of The Year" trophy by popular voting from its customers. The company was founded in 2007 in Mark's bedroom in Southsea and today has its head office in North End, Portsmouth with branches in Southampton and Bournemouth.

The prize was presented at the F&I Conference and Awards Dinner held in Milton Keynes last night.

"I am delighted and humbled that our customers have taken the time to vote for us and recognise us as Lender of the Year," said Mark as he recovered from his celebrations that only finished around breakfast time this morning.

The Car Finance Company beat stiff competition from major players such as Santander to win this prize, making the success of this small but fast growing local company all the more remarkable.

"We are completely focused on helping our customers to make sound financial decisions and hence "responsible lending" is something that is ingrained into the DNA of our business."

The Car Finance Company is a local success story. Having started in Mark's bedroom 4 years ago, they are now a multi-million pound lender and have secured funding which will help them grow very quickly into a national player.

"We meet each and every customer face to face to make a personal lending decision because a credit score never tells the full story. As a result of our success and the response from our customers, we are on track to open 10 more local offices around the UK over the next 12 months from South Wales to Kent and Hampshire to the Mersey and extend our responsible lending approach across the UK" said Mark.