Over the past year we have been working hard to expand and improve our financial services offering, with significant growth coming through this channel. We have provided our customers with more ways to spread the cost of their purchases, in our Retail stores, our Autocentres garages and online. Our proposition in Autocentres, where customers can receive unexpected repair bills, is largely unmatched by our competitors. As a result, our value perception and customer satisfaction scores have increased, showing that we are offering a solution customers want and see value in.

Our financial services proposition has attracted new customers to the Group, in particular younger and female customers. These are all demographics that we under-index in.

The COVID-19 pandemic is likely to drive an economic contraction, leaving many consumers with lower levels of disposable income. In this environment, a strong financial services offer is critical, giving customers options on spreading the cost over a longer time period. The work we have done during the year, and continue to do, will put us in a strong position