SARASOTA, Fla. — Carbiz recently announced plans to expand from three stores to 15, in addition to appointing Stanton Heintz as the company's chief financial officer. The company specializes in the buy-here, pay-here segment of the market in Florida.

"We announced that we seek to expand our car-lot business from three stores to 15 in Florida," Carl Ritter, chief executive officer, recently told SubPrime Auto Finance News.

"Each of our car stores is expected to generate $1 million in sales annually, and we expect 15 percent net sales at that level. Obviously, an expansion of that size would be a significant increase to our finance business," he continued.

The company is currently hiring staff in its technology, accounting and car-store business groups to help with the expansion, executives said.

"Our technology group has been growing at a rate of 15 percent for the past three years, and it is on track to beat that this year," Ritter explained. "With ASP delivering and the addition of our IDA (Independent Dealer Accounting) product, which is an accounting program specifically designed for used-car dealers, our technology business group continues to thrive.

"We are introducing laser form printing to make that administrative side of business easier for our clients and our OFAC compliance product, which is very important for dealers to pay attention to. It has had a great adoption rate," Ritter noted.

Ritter said his company's services are designed to help new dealers open businesses and avoid the potential pitfalls involved with building portfolios in the risky subprime segment.

"Our portfolio analysis and on-site operational audits keep dealers on track," he pointed out. "We provide weekly written analysis and conference-call support to assist dealers in day-to-day business operations.

"In 2004, we entered the BHPH business ourselves, with three stores in Florida," Ritter said. "Not only do we like the results from this part of the business, but it helps us be better software providers and trainers to this business segment. Sometimes those that teach also do. It is a very exciting time at Carbiz, we have our 'ducks in a row' and are moving forward."

The company also noted that it recently moved Carbiz's shares from a Canadian exchange to the U.S. Over-the-Counter Bulletin Board.

"We have the internal capacity to develop personnel through our training and consulting group, and we are poised to manage this expansion using existing infrastructure," Ritter said. "We believe Florida has excellent economics for this expansion due to the substantial service industry in the state. This service industry employs our target demographic, so we intend to focus our growth in Florida using our BHPH model.

"There is a strong business case for this type of business model," he explained. "America's Car-Mart operates a profitable 90-store BHPH operation and has strong trading multiples and growth history."

Carbiz Names Heintz CFO

In other news, the company named Stanton Heintz as chief financial officer. Executives said Heintz served as chief operating officer since 2003, and previously was vice president since he joined the company in 2000.

Heintz was voted in as a director and joined the board in July 2006, at the company's annual general meeting.

"With our company's stock positioned to trade in the United States, and all of our operations now located in Florida, this appointment completes our transition from Canada to the United States," Ritter highlighted.

"I would like to thank Aldo Sistilli, our former CFO, for his tireless efforts and dedication over the past 10 years and wish him all the best in the future," he concluded.

To learn more about employment opportunities or Carbiz's services, visit www.carbiz.com.