The awards recognised
outstanding performance in European leasing, taking account of
criteria which range from financial performance to innovation,
product development, and customer management.
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Lifetime Achievement Award:
Derek Soper
The winner of the 2010 lifetime
achievement award started out in leasing at Mercantile Leasing in
1960.
He played a big role in
establishing Midland Bank’s Forward Leasing Subsidiary and Barclays
Leasing and, in 1974, was appointed to establish Barclays
International.
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By GlobalDataIn 1981, he took the helm at
Kleinwort Benson’s leasing subsidiary, staying for 10 years, before
joining AT&T Capital’s European operation where he was chairman
and CEO until 1995. During that time he established 13 subsidiaries
across Europe.
He moved to Hong Kong as chairman
of AT&T’s Asia-Pacific region and, over the next three years,
new finance and leasing companies were established, or acquisitions
made, in Australia, China, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Singapore and
Taiwan.
In 1998, he established The Alta
Group consultancy in Europe where he served as a principal and
chairman. He left in 2009, to focus on International Advisory
Associates, where he now serves as chairman.
Soper has served as chairman of the
UK Equipment Leasing Association (now the Finance & Leasing
Association) and was a member of the council of Leaseurope, the
Industry Future Council of the Equipment Leasing and Finance
Association of America, and the Finance House Association of Hong
Kong.
He is a Fellow of the UK Institute
of Directors and a Freeman of the City of London.
Few can match his experience and expertise.
Innovator of the year:
Nordea Finance
This was a very close run category.
The winner not only demonstrated resistance to recession, but also
had a strong growth strategy. It gained the edge for its
wide-ranging product innovation: a key example being its new
web-based service for car finance.
Captive finance
provider of the year: Heidelberg
This category was one of the biggest
and toughest fought of all with a very high standard of entries.
The winner is a company which impressed the judges with
consistently good returns over the long-term, and for its
commitment to, and support for its customer base.
Public sector lessor
of the year: LeasePlan
More than any other company in this
category, the judges felt that the winner had done the most to
engage with key influencers in the public sector. It committed
resource and intelligence to developing its offering, and raising
its profile with the thought leaders in this market.
Italian lessor of the year:
UniCredit
The winner was chosen for its
strength of leadership, its focus, and its strong relationships
with customers in the Italian market.
Green lessor of the
year: De Lage Landen
The winner in this category has done a
huge amount to further the cause of green leasing and of corporate
social responsibility both with its organisation and in working
with customers. It is unrivalled in the market for its green
leasing products.
Vendor finance provider of the year: SG Equipment
Finance
This category attracted a very high
standard of entries. Of all the companies, the winner impressed the
judges the most with its consistent, broad range of funding, and
its commitment to its vendors.
European
lessor of the year: SG Equipment Finance
For this award, the competition was
very tough. There were several companies which ran close, but the
ultimate winner stood out for its consistency and its well-balanced
business model, and for ultimately being the market leader.
SME champion of the
year: Investec
There were a lot of strong entrants
to this category and the judges argued long and hard to choose the
ultimate winner.
The company that won was chosen for
its ability to handle customer relationships, and for keeping its
doors open to SMEs through the crisis. Acquisitions this year of
other SME specialists shows true commitment to the sector.
The Leasing Life Asset Finance
Awards 2010 were exclusively sponsored by CHP Consulting
