Avanti Finance is an award-winning specialist lender that has helped more than 300,000 New Zealanders achieve their financial goals. Through a trusted network of introducers, Avanti Finance has one of the broadest lending portfolios in the NZ market, spanning property, auto, personal and business lending, and an established presence in auto lending in Australia.
Website: avantifinance.co.nz
Founder: Glenn Hawkins and Stephen Eltringham (co-founders); Hawkins is chairman
Company type: Private; New Zealand-owned
Regions served: New Zealand and Australia
What does Avanti Finance offer?
Avanti Finance offers a broad range of lending solutions to meet clients’ diverse needs. Its key offerings include:
- property lending: a comprehensive range of tailored property lending solutions spanning residential, commercial, investment and development. It also offers bridging and caveat secured loans to support customers who require fast and flexible short-term funding
- auto lending: a multi-tier auto lending solution for consumer, commercial and wholesale floorplan finance. It provides funding for new and used cars, luxury vehicles, boats, motorbikes and light commercial vehicles
- personal lending: flexible unsecured personal loans designed for a wide range of risk profiles. It supports customers through life’s big moments and everything in between, from debt consolidation and refinancing to holidays, weddings, tertiary study and emergency healthcare
- business lending: versatile business loans that support sole traders, SMEs and property developers with funding needs for business assets, equipment upgrades, working capital, residential property development, and commercial properties
- insurance premium funding
As a member of the Financial Services Federation, Avanti Finance is committed to responsible lending, regulatory compliance, and excellent customer service. The company invests in its people’s well-being and professional growth, with flexible and hybrid work arrangements, secondment opportunities, monthly reward and recognition programs, and access to learning resources. It is also committed to giving back to the communities it serves: every employee receives one paid day each year to volunteer for a charity of their choice, and the company supports the Duffy Books in Homes program, helping put books into the hands of children at Dawson Road School in South Auckland.
Avanti Finance in the market
Avanti Finance is one of the largest and fastest-growing specialist lenders in New Zealand. It was ranked the second largest specialist lender in KPMG’s Specialist Lending FIPs Report in 2023, and has been named Specialist Lender of the Year at the NZ Mortgage Awards in 2022, 2023 and 2024, was a finalist in 2025, and took the same title from the Kiwi Adviser Network in 2025 and the Link Financial Group Adviser Choice Awards in 2026. It has also been recognised by the Financial Services Federation, receiving the Community and Sustainability Award in 2022 and the Equifax Outstanding Corporate Citizen Award in 2019.
Avanti Finance remains proudly New Zealand-owned and is governed by a board chaired by Glenn Hawkins. The business is led by Group Chief Executive Fred Ohlsson, supported by an experienced executive management team. Ohlsson was previously managing director at Amplifi Group, and also held senior roles at ANZ, leading retail and business banking in New Zealand (2010–2016) and retail and commercial banking in Australia (2016–2019).
Scroll down for Avanti Finance’s latest deals, partnerships, and industry headlines.
