V12 Retail Finance Partners with Magnet Across 150 UK Kitchen Stores

V12 Retail Finance has launched a major partnership with kitchen retailer Magnet, rolling out point-of-sale credit across 150 stores. The move signals a significant shift in the consumer finance landscape, as high-value "considered purchases" like home improvements drive substantial growth for lenders even as broader retail spending remains under close scrutiny by households.

What was announced

The partnership, which went live in July, provides customers at 150 Magnet locations across the UK with the ability to spread the cost of kitchen installations over tailored periods. Since its launch, the initiative has already generated millions of pounds in approved finance. Notably, the average order values recorded through this partnership have exceeded typical platform averages, indicating that consumers are increasingly utilizing finance for large-scale, long-term property investments.

The collaboration comes during a period of rapid expansion for V12 Retail Finance in the home improvement sector. Data from the first half of 2026 shows that finance values in this category surged by nearly 48% year-on-year. This growth has outpaced other sectors, with monthly volumes in 2026 consistently exceeding those recorded in both 2024 and 2025. While furniture remains the largest single category on the V12 platform—accounting for over half of all finance values—the home improvement segment has emerged as one of the strongest performing areas of the business.

Demographic data from the first half of the year reveals that point-of-sale finance is being used primarily by established working households. Approximately 70% of funded applications came from individuals aged between 25 and 54, with homeowners who hold a mortgage representing the largest single group of users. This suggests that finance is being treated as a strategic budgeting tool for high-value purchases rather than a niche product for specific consumer segments.

"As a lender working with leading retailers such as Magnet, we are seeing at first hand how important it is to support customers through those larger purchasing decisions, and to help them access products and services in a way that is both responsible and affordable."

Andrew Phillips, Managing Director of V12 Retail Finance.

The companies involved

V12 Retail Finance Limited is a prominent UK provider of point-of-sale consumer finance, specializing in helping retailers offer integrated credit solutions at the checkout. The company is a subsidiary of the Secure Trust Bank Group, a long-established UK retail bank. Secure Trust Bank, which operates through its primary website at securetrustbank.com, has a diverse portfolio that includes business finance, real estate finance, and consumer lending. V12 itself maintains a strong digital presence through v12retailfinance.com, positioning itself as a technology-led lender in the retail space.

Magnet is one of the UK’s most recognizable kitchen retailers, operating a vast network of showrooms that cater to both retail consumers and trade professionals. The partnership places V12’s lending technology directly into a high-stakes retail environment where purchase decisions often involve five-figure sums. By integrating with a retailer of Magnet's scale, V12 reinforces its position in the "big-ticket" retail market, competing against both traditional personal loan providers and newer fintech entrants in the buy-now-pay-later and regulated credit sectors.

What FF News has reported before

FF News has closely tracked the evolution of Secure Trust Bank and its subsidiaries as they navigate the shifting credit market. Earlier this year, we covered how V12 Retail Finance Q1 Data Shows Continued Growth in Big-Ticket Retail Finance as UK Consumers Become More Selective, a trend that has clearly accelerated into the second half of the year with the Magnet announcement. Additionally, the parent company has been active in diversifying its financial ecosystem; we recently reported that Secure Trust Bank Taps Hargreaves Lansdown for First Deposit Aggregator Partnership, marking a significant step in the bank's strategy to broaden its deposit-gathering capabilities through third-party platforms.

What this means

This partnership confirms that the "big-ticket" retail sector is currently the primary engine for regulated point-of-sale finance growth. While smaller-scale "Buy Now, Pay Later" products often dominate fintech headlines, the real volume and stability are moving toward high-value, asset-enhancing purchases like kitchens. The fact that homeowners with mortgages are the primary users suggests that POS finance is being repositioned as a sophisticated alternative to traditional home improvement loans or equity release. For the wider industry, this puts pressure on traditional banks to simplify their personal loan journeys, as retailers like Magnet successfully embed finance directly into the kitchen design and sales process.