Phillip Garlick

Phillip Garlick is managing director of Product Partnerships Limited, a compliance advisory business based in Leeds. The firm was named Compliance Advisory Firm of the Year in the United Kingdom at the 2024 Corporate INTL Global Awards, in recognition of its specialist work in consumer credit and Financial Conduct Authority regulation, a field in which it has established a strong reputation among retailers and finance providers.

Product Partnerships is authorised and regulated by the FCA and holds permissions covering credit broking, consumer hire and debt administration. It supports firms across the consumer-credit landscape, advising both directly authorised businesses and those operating within an appointed-representative or principal model. Its services extend to FCA applications, buy-now-pay-later compliance and the requirements of the Consumer Duty, giving retailers and finance providers a single source of regulatory guidance as the rules governing consumer lending continue to evolve. This ability to act either as a principal to appointed representatives or as an adviser to directly authorised firms gives clients flexibility in how they access the credit market.

The firm describes itself as bringing together a century of combined experience in retail consumer credit, and it serves a broad range of sectors including motor finance, green energy, retail, furniture, leisure and technology. It has developed a compliance platform, Artemis, as a modern tool for helping clients manage their regulatory obligations, complementing its advisory services with technology designed to make ongoing compliance more manageable. Its client base includes well-known consumer brands and industry bodies, underlining the firm's reach across the point-of-sale finance market and the confidence that established businesses place in its guidance.

Consumer credit is among the most closely regulated areas of UK financial services, and the environment has grown more demanding in recent years. The introduction of the Consumer Duty has sharpened the focus on fair customer outcomes, while the rapid growth of buy-now-pay-later has drawn increasing regulatory attention. Retailers whose core expertise lies in selling goods rather than in financial regulation need practical help to offer credit responsibly, and it is precisely this translation of complex FCA requirements into workable arrangements that Product Partnerships provides.

As managing director, Phillip Garlick leads a team that positions itself as a practical partner to businesses that offer credit to consumers. The 2024 Corporate INTL award recognises the firm's standing as a trusted adviser in a heavily scrutinised area of financial services, and its role in helping firms lend responsibly and remain on the right side of an exacting rulebook. Under his leadership, the business combines deep sector knowledge, regulated status and its own compliance technology to support clients across the consumer-credit market.