Inside the Car Finance Awards 2026: Celebrating excellence

The car finance industry came together in style last night for the 2026 Car Finance Awards sponsored by Warranty Solutions Group, recognising the people, businesses and initiatives driving excellence across the sector. 

The evening celebrated outstanding achievement while raising over £7,000  for Shooting Star Children’s Hospices. 

The night kicked off with a welcome speech from the Head of Content and Community, Kitty Wood, before comedian Mark Simmons kept guests entertained throughout the evening. Guests also had the chance to win an F1 motorbike simulator competition sponsored by Equivo. 

Among the evening’s standout winners, ALPHERA Financial Services took home Best Company to Work For, while Chloe Green of Advantage Finance was recognised as Rising Star. 

Customer Service Excellence was awarded to Equivo, and the Company Award for Diversity and Inclusion went to Moneybarn (Vanquis Vehicle Finance).  

Debbie McKay of MotoNovo Finance was named Car Finance Business Leader of the Year, standing out to the judges for combining exceptional commercial leadership with a strong people-first culture across the business. 

One of the evening’s highlights saw the official renaming of the Judges’ Award in honour of the late Dave Briggs. The newly named ‘Dave Briggs Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Car Finance Industry’ was presented to Lee Streets, CEO of Evolution Funding, in recognition of his exceptional contribution to the sector. 

Earlier in the day, industry leaders gathered at Hampton Manor for the very first Car Finance Leaders Network roundtable. As well as another, held in partnership with Warranty Solutions Group, which focused on VAP and sparked insightful discussion across the industry. 

The event also saw the launch of the new Car Finance Intelligence Report, offering fresh insight into the state of the market. Get your copy here.

The celebrations continued long into the night with an after-party, a packed dance floor and rumours that “the worm” made an appearance at some point - although we won’t be naming names! 

We would like to thank our judges for the time they put into ensuring a fair judging process, and give a big congratulations to all our finalists and winners!

Thank you to everyone who attended, supported and helped make the evening such a success. We look forward to seeing everyone again at Credit Week next month.