GE’s TIP wins P&O Ferrymasters deal
P&O Ferrymasters has appointed GE’s TIP Trailer Services to
maintain its fleet of 1,500 trailers in a six-year contract.
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The deal, of which the value was undisclosed, will cover the
maintenance and repairs of the fleet, including tyre
management.
“The impact of this on our daily operations will be huge,”
explains Bas Belder, managing director of P&O Ferrymasters,
citing the reduction in downtime of the trailers as one main
attraction of the deal.
TIP is a division of GE Capital Solutions and headquartered in
Amsterdam. It finances and operates heavy commercial vehicles.
HEALTHCARE EQUIPMENT
CIT closes £4m vendor deal
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By GlobalDataCIT Group (UK) Limited has financed the purchase of $8.1m (£4m)
of equipment for Genolier Swiss Medical Network (GSMN), the
healthcare division of AGEN Holding SA, Switzerland’s second
largest private clinic group. The vendor financing agreement has
enabled GSMN to purchase vital medical equipment without the burden
of a large initial financial outlay.
GSMN serves the global premium private healthcare market, caring
for private clients from around the world. The vendor financing
agreement was established to update the healthcare equipment in
GSMN’s four hospitals.
CIT provided financing, for the purchase of new equipment on
GSMN’s behalf, for key healthcare equipment providers, including
Philips Healthcare, Varian Medical Systems, Stryker, FUJIFILM and
others.
The deal was led by Yannis Skiadas, new relationship development
manager, and Christian Bernhard, sales director Northern Europe of
CIT Vendor Finance Europe.
VEHICLES
Two new van contracts for lessor
Online grocery store Ocado has signed an exclusive deal with
Lombard Vehicle Management (LVM) for the provision of its van
fleet. The lessor has already provided 10 vans to Ocado, with
another 80 to come by the end of June and additional units to be
provided thereafter.
The vans – Mercedes Sprinters – are all to be operated on a
five-year cycle. Ocado’s fleet manager Stuart Skingsley said:
“Ocado has significant growth plans and needs a supplier that can
meet the unique requirements of our business as it develops. We
hadn’t seen such a flexible approach from other providers and that
made LVM stand out from the crowd.”
LVM has also won a contract with electrical services contractor
MES-National to provide it with a fleet of VW Transporter and Caddy
vehicles, with delivery of the first 42 vans underway on a fully
maintained three-year contract. All the vans will be equipped with
LVM’s telematics system, Fleet Tracker. Previously, MES used spot
hire from a major CV provider, but switched its strategy because it
found service levels were not satisfactory.
VEHICLES
LeasePlan grows French fleet
Last month, LeasePlan Corporation N.V., a Netherlands-based
holding company, and its subsidiary LeasePlan France S.A.S.
acquired Daimler Chrysler Fleet Management France S.A.S., also
known as DCS Fleet.
The deal, in which LeasePlan acquired the French subsidiary from
Mercedes-Benz Financial Services S.A., added 20,000 vehicles to the
lessor’s total French fleet of 100,000.
The transaction is still subject to French and Dutch regulatory
approval.
VEHICLES
‘Sale-and-rentback’ product to beat credit squeeze
Northgate Vehicle Hire has launched a sale-and-rentback product
for fleets, which, it said, will be of particular use in the midst
of an economic slowdown.
Northgate said, depending on the age of the vehicles sold to it,
“companies will either rent the same units back at a fixed rate or,
if older than 27 months, take immediate delivery of new
vehicles.”
MD Phil Moorhouse commented: “We view ‘sale and rent back’
as the smart move for forwardthinking businesses. Not only can they
budget more effectively, they also have the flexibility to increase
or reduce the number of vehicles operated at any time without
financial penalty, unlike contract hire.”
VANS
Green appeal seals van fleet deal
Pendragon Contracts has won a deal to supply vans to Rexel
Senate and Denmans, an electrical wholesaler that operates 220
vehicles from 170 locations across the UK.
The current fleet of Iveco diesel vans will be replaced by
Vauxhall’s Vivaro and Movano models, which are less environmentally
damaging.
Andy Barrell, Pendragon’s head of national accounts, said:
“Rexel Senate decided it needed to update its vehicles and we
worked very hard to demonstrate we could deliver the best possible
fleet solution to the company’s needs.”
CONTRACT HIRE
Retailer makes foray into contract hire business
Lookers plc may add a contract-hire operation to its vast
motor-retailing business, chief executive Ken Surgenor has
revealed.
In his review of the group’s 2007 financial results,
Surgenor remarked that the group recently signed a heads of
agreement to acquire two Volkswagen businesses and a contracthire
operation
“[The acquisition] gives us an entry into the contract hire
market with an experienced management team,” Surgenor said.
Without providing further details, Lookers said the value of the
three businesses was estimated at £3m and that the transaction was
anticipated to be completed at the end of March.
FACTORING
Bibby scoops Siemens’ factoring arm
Siemens Financial Services (SFS) continues its sale of non-core
assets with the announcement that it has offloaded its invoice
factoring business to Bibby Financial Services Group.
Bibby bought Siemen’s invoice-financing business largely for its
‘bodyshop’ factoring business, which provides cash to garages to
carry out repairs on cars following accidents, prior to them
receiving insurance payouts. Bibby paid an undisclosed sum for the
200 clients and five staff that comprised the factoring
business.
REAL-ESTATE LEASING
Hypo grows property arm
Hypo Alpe-Adria Leasing continues its commitment to real-estate
financing with a €15m investment over 12 years in Rousse. The
lessor’s cash, which will be used to build a shopping mall in the
Bulgarian city, will sit alongside investment by two local business
partners.
PUBLIC SECTOR LEASING
Kent names three lessors for £20m contract
Kent County Council has awarded three fleet-hire companies a
contract worth £20m to supply vehicles to 12 public sector
bodies.
The three winners, which beat six other contenders, are
Automotive Leasing, ING Car Lease and Lloyds TSB autolease
(LTSBa).
