About Avanti Finance

Specialist lending. Backing real people for over 35 years.

At Avanti Finance, we’ve spent more than three decades helping people move forward – through life’s big moments and everything in between. Whether it’s buying a car, covering an unexpected bill, purchasing a home, or growing a business, we’ve supported over 300,000 New Zealanders along the way. And we’re just getting started.

Why have we refreshed our brand

As we look to the future, we’ve refreshed our brand to represent who we are today and our bold vision to evolve, innovate and deliver even better products and experiences to our customers, introducers, and investors.

We’re not a bank. We’re a specialist lender. We provide lending solutions that are flexible and tailored to fit real life. Whether your goals are big or small, we’re here to help you make them happen.

While our brand may look different, what we stand for hasn’t changed. We’re still the same trusted team, with people at the heart of everything we do.

We’re gradually rolling our new brand out across all our touchpoints, so for the next few months, you may still receive documents with our old branding (or our subsidiary brands, Branded Financial Services and Finance Central).

What We Stand For

At Avanti, we live and breathe our values:

  • People First – We put people first and treat everyone we deal with as individuals with unique circumstances, because we know that sometimes “life happens”.
  • Relentlessly Helpful – We go the extra mile to find a way forward, supporting everyone with tools and advice that make a real difference.
  • Do What’s Right – We hold ourselves to the highest standard. This is a responsibility we take very seriously.
Number of people we’ve helped:
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Years in business:
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Our History

The Avanti Finance story started in 1989.

Avanti was founded on the premise that everyone deserves a chance to access what’s beyond arm’s reach, if they make the effort to stay the course.

‘Avanti’ (which means ‘go forward’ in Italian) was chosen as the name because we never stand still and we pride ourselves on helping people move forward, no matter what their situation. Our first customer was a woman who urgently needed a car loan and we’ve been there for everyday New Zealanders ever since.

Founded in New Zealand, Avanti Finance remains proudly locally owned and is governed by a board chaired by Glenn Hawkins. The business is led by Group Chief Executive Fred Ohlsson and supported by a dedicated executive management team.

We’re a member of the Financial Services Federation and are committed to responsible lending, regulatory compliance, and doing right by our customers.

We’re committed to sustainability, community engagement, and volunteering, actively contributing to the wellbeing of the communities we serve.

Find out more about our responsible borrowing and lending and community engagement initiatives.

Our Awards and Recognition

We’re proud to be recognised for our commitment to our customers, introducers, industry, and communities.

  • Equifax Outstanding Corporate Citizen Award – Financial Services Federation Awards, 2019
  • Community and Sustainability Award – Financial Services Federation Awards, 2022
  • New Zealand Securitisation Deal of the Year – KangaNews Awards, 2022
  • Ranked 2nd Largest Specialist Lender – KPMG Specialist Lending FIPs Report, 2023
  • Specialist Lender of the Year – NZ Mortgage Awards, 2022, 2023 & 2024
  • Specialist Lender of the Year Finalist – NZ Mortgage Awards, 2025
  • Specialist Lender of the Year – Kiwi Adviser Network (KAN), 2025
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