From the Charlotte Business Journal:
Banking & Financial Services
Local lender Asbury Management Group in growth mode on heels of latest acquisition
Asbury Management Group’s headquarters is located at 500 W. North Main St. in Waxhaw, which is about 30 miles from Charlotte.
COURTESY OF ASBURY MANAGEMENT GROUP
By Symone Graham – Staff Writer, Charlotte Business Journal Mar 16, 2026
Story Highlights
- Asbury Management Group secured an $80 million credit facility.
- The Waxhaw lender grew to 84 branches after recent acquisition.
- Online application volume increased to 1,500+ per month in the past two years.
A family-led lender headquartered in Waxhaw has more than quadrupled its branch footprint in recent years while investing in digital lending.
Waxhaw-based Asbury Management Group has grown from 18 branches in 2019 to 84 locations across five states following its Jan. 1 acquisition of Hometown Finance, a personal installment loan provider. The company added 11 branches as a result of that deal. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Asbury Management, similar to Hometown, is a consumer finance company that provides personal installment loans through a network of branches and digital lending platforms across multiple states.
The combined platform generates roughly $30 million in annual revenue and about $10 million in EBITDA, a company’s earnings from its core operations, said Asbury Management president Andrew Asbury. The company also recently secured an $80 million senior credit facility from First Horizon Corp. (NYSE: FHN) to support additional expansion.
“At $40 million in lending capacity, growth naturally becomes constrained,” Asbury said. “Expanding that to $80 million gives us the ability to scale again – investing more heavily in digital marketing and data-driven customer acquisition while continuing to grow our digital and retail footprint.”
The lender is targeting approximately $20 million in incremental annual loan originations growth over the next two years, which would represent about 30% portfolio growth. That’s driven in part by digital customer acquisition and virtual lending offices.
The company also plans to continue evaluating acquisition opportunities as it expands its lending footprint. Asbury Management has completed about 10 acquisitions since 2019, typically targeting smaller regional operators.
“We are acquisitive and actively evaluating opportunities,” Asbury said. “This new facility provides the capital flexibility to move quickly when value-added opportunities arise.”
Pictured are Chip Asbury (left), CEO of Asbury Management Group, and his son, Andrew Asbury, the company’s president.
COURTESY OF ASBURY MANAGEMENT GROUP
Digital lending has become a growing part of the company’s strategy as it balances its traditional branch-based model with online access for borrowers.
Online application volume has increased from roughly 200 per month to more than 1,500 per month in the past two years. Loan approvals that once required manual review averaging about 30 minutes are now automated and completed within about 10 seconds.
“We’re looking to increase from 1,500 to 5,000 (online applications) over the next 24 months,” Asbury said.
The company piloted a virtual lending platform in Florence, South Carolina in 2025. It’s now expanding the model into Texas and Georgia, allowing it to reach customers outside its existing branch network.
“The virtual office allows us to serve customers who prefer an online experience, including those outside the communities where we operate physical branches,” Asbury said.
Payments have also shifted toward digital channels. Electronic payments now account for about 75% of the company’s total payments, including transactions made through platforms such as Zelle, Venmo, Cash App and Apple Pay.
Behind the scenes, the company has centralized several operational functions in the Charlotte region, including analytics, underwriting support, finance and compliance.
“We expect to double the size of our portfolio over the next three years,” Asbury said. “Technology allows us to scale more efficiently, so we anticipate only about a 50% increase in back-office and technology staffing to support that growth.”
The analytics platform has contributed to measurable performance improvements across the loan portfolio, including a 340-basis-point decline in delinquency and a 230-basis-point reduction in charge-offs over the past two years, he said.
Asbury Management currently employs about 30 people in the Charlotte metro area, including 15 at its headquarters in Waxhaw. Its local headcount
has more than tripled over the past five years as the company centralized key operational teams.
“Over the next six months, we are expanding our data analytics team, adding a digital marketing department and increasing back-office accounting and support roles,” Asbury said.
The company was founded by Asbury’s father, Chip Asbury, a longtime banking executive whose career included roles at First Union, a predecessor to Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC), as well as Washington Mutual, which collapsed during the 2008 financial crisis, and Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) before launching Asbury Management in 2005.
Andrew Asbury joined the business in 2011 after working as a certified public accountant with KPMG and Forvis in Charlotte. He transitioned from CFO at Asbury Management to president at the start of this year.
The business remains family-run. Andrew Asbury’s brother, Chris Asbury, leads branch experience and treasury management, while uncle Daryl Asbury serves as senior vice president of marketing and credit. Other family members, including Andrew’s mother and wife, also hold roles within the organization.
Asbury Management currently serves roughly 72,000 customers across its operating markets. The company focuses on borrowers who fall between traditional bank lending and higher-risk lending segments.
Asbury Management plans to continue expanding both its branch network and its digital lending infrastructure.
“We are fully invested in both of those futures,” Andrew Asbury said.