Evolution Funding celebrated double success at the Credit Strategy Car Finance Awards 2026, winning ‘Best Service for Dealers’ for the fourth consecutive year alongside the ‘Innovation Award’ for Dealer in a Box.
The awards recognise another significant year of progress for the Group – from continued investment in technology and platform innovation to the strength of the partnerships and service that continue to set Evolution apart across the automotive finance industry.
Over the past year, the Group has taken another major step forward in how we innovate, collaborate and deliver for our partners. These awards recognise not only what we’ve built, but the impact we continue to have across the industry.
From market-leading service to technology that is helping reshape the way dealers operate, the evening recognised the strength of the Group, the progress we’re making and the people behind it all.
A word from the CEO, Lee Streets
“It was another fantastic night at the Car Finance Awards for the Group, and yet more recognition for the outstanding work colleagues across all of our brands continue to deliver. Winning two awards – Best Service for Dealers and Best Innovation for Dealer in a Box – was amazing. What makes this recognition even more meaningful is that it comes from a judging panel made up of peers, lending partners and industry experts. Everyone across the business should feel incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved together.”
Adding to the celebrations on the night, Lee was also presented with the Dave Briggs Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Car Finance Industry – one of the sector’s highest individual honours.
During the presentation, the judges recognised Lee as “one of the most influential leaders in modern motor finance”, highlighting the role he has played in shaping both Evolution Funding’s growth and the wider industry over the last two decades.
They praised Lee’s leadership throughout some of the sector’s most challenging periods, his contribution during significant regulatory change, and the collaborative, people-first approach that has earned the respect of colleagues, partners, regulators and peers alike.
The judges also recognised the extraordinary growth of Evolution under Lee’s leadership – from a specialist automotive finance intermediary into the UK’s largest used auto finance platform – while noting that despite the scale of that success, he has remained incredibly humble and always focused on the people around him.
Best Service for Dealers
This marks the fourth consecutive year Evolution Funding has been named ‘Best Service for Dealers’ – recognition of the partnerships, expertise and technology that continue to set us apart.
Across the Group, our teams continue to support dealer partners in a way that simply cannot be matched – combining hands-on expertise with evolving technology that is helping dealers operate more efficiently, improve finance performance and deliver better customer outcomes.
The impact of that support can be seen every day:
- 84,000 hours saved using our Pre Pay technology
- Over 3,000 attempted fraud cases blocked
- £74.4m worth of risk prevented from reaching dealers
These aren’t just numbers. They show the real impact our teams are making across the industry every single day – and this award shows that work hasn’t gone unnoticed.
The judges recognised Evolution for combining innovation, speed and hands-on dealer partnership with scalable technology and market-leading support.
Innovation Award
Winning the Innovation Award marks another major milestone for Evolution and shines a spotlight on Dealer in a Box – the industry’s first all-in-one proposition designed to bring together finance, compliance, digital retail and dealer management into one connected platform.
Dealer in a Box wasn’t created to simply improve what already existed. It was developed to solve real problems dealers face every day – fragmented systems, disconnected customer journeys and time-heavy processes across digital, finance and operations.
Launched initially in partnership with Click Dealer, Dealer in a Box has been designed to integrate with leading automotive digital retailers – creating a more connected and efficient operating model for dealers.
Right now, more than 300 dealers are using Dealer in a Box as part of their day-to-day operations, with measurable results already being delivered across the network:
- 30% increase in finance penetration
- 40% increase in website traffic
- 2–3 additional vehicle sales per month
These results reflect the real commercial impact the platform is already delivering for dealers using it every day.
But the numbers only tell part of the story. What matters most is the impact Dealer in a Box is having on how dealers operate, grow and use finance within their business.
As one of our dealer partners shared:
“Since introducing Dealer in a Box into the business, finance has become a much stronger part of what we do. We’ve gone from generating no online finance proposals to averaging three a month, and our finance penetration has increased from 15% to 35%.
The system works well for us, and having a dedicated Customer Success Manager keeping us on track makes a big difference. It’s helped turn the website into something that genuinely drives finance rather than just sitting there.”
– Gary Phipps, Staverton Garage
This award is about more than the technology itself. It reflects the ambition behind it, the collaboration across the Group and the teams that brought it to life.
The judges highlighted Dealer in a Box for its innovation, scalability and ability to reshape automotive retail through a more connected and efficient operating model.
Sponsoring Best Broker
After ten consecutive wins in the Best Broker category, Evolution Funding took a different approach in 2026 by sponsoring and championing the award instead.
Ten consecutive wins remains an incredible milestone for the business and reflects the consistency, partnerships and performance that have defined Evolution’s role within the industry over the last decade.
As the business continues to grow and innovate, this year also represented an opportunity to support and celebrate the wider broker community while placing greater focus on the technology, platforms and capabilities helping shape the future of automotive finance.
We’re proud to hand over the baton, with Car Finance 247 winning ‘Best Broker’ on the night. Congratulations to the whole team on a fantastic achievement and well-deserved recognition.
What These Wins Really Mean
Beyond the trophies themselves, these awards represent something even bigger – the progress we’ve made as a Group and the incredible people behind the scenes who have made all of this possible.
They reflect:
- How we’ve continued to push boundaries through innovation that is delivering real, measurable impact for our dealer partners.
- How our teams have worked relentlessly behind the scenes to build smarter technology, stronger processes and seamless experiences that are transforming the way dealers operate every day.
- How collaboration across every part of the Group – from technology, propositions, product teams, marketing to operations, sales, underwriting, compliance and support – continues to drive the business forward.
Most importantly, they show what’s possible when we bring together great people, strong partnerships and a shared ambition to keep moving the industry forward.
This Is Just the Beginning
The Car Finance Awards 2026 was an evening full of shared success – celebrating the very best in the industry, where we were proud to stand alongside so many worthy competitors and congratulate all the winners.
Most importantly, we want to thank our colleagues across the Group, alongside our dealer partners, lenders and stakeholders who continue to support us and work collaboratively with us every day. These achievements are only possible because of the strength of those partnerships and the people behind them.
And while this is a moment to celebrate how far we’ve come, it’s also a reminder of where we’re heading next.
Dealer in a Box has already shown what’s possible when we combine innovation, technology and expertise to solve real problems for dealers. And this is only the beginning.
We’ll continue to raise the bar, push boundaries and shape the future of automotive finance together – because Evolution is not just the one to beat, we’re the one to be.
