All articles by Fred Crawley
Fred Crawley
The terrific trio
Theyve seen British leasing develop from a tax advantage product into a multi-billion pound industry, watched recessions come and go like bad weather, and marveled at the raw leasing acumen of Ringo Starr.
Up for sale
Close Leasings purchase of the British portfolio of Tokyo Leasing last month provoked a certain amount of envy among UK lessors a spread of hard assets with a net value of around £14 million (15.6 million), sold for an undisclosed sum believed to be less than 75 percent of that figure.
Hannover invests in new solar projects
German big ticket specialist Hannover Leasing has underlined its commitment to continued financing of renewable energy assets, with the purchase of three solar generation sites in The Lleida province of Spain.
Grenke sacrifices volume, achieves 19.5% margin
The Grenkeleasing group has reported 228.5 million of new business written in the first half of 2009, a decrease of 19.6 percent on H1 2008s figure of 284.1 million. Yet, according to a statement by the group, this was a planned reduction: In view of the further deterioration of macroeconomic activity, we actively reduced the groups new business, to focus increasingly on profitability. As such, the group reported margins edged up to an all time high of 19.5 percent on what Grenke calls its contribution margin 2 (CM2) business, with such deals bringing in nearly 40 million.
Lombard six months into e.on deal
UK asset finance giant Lombard is six months into a joint venture with the Sustainable Energy Solutions (SES) division of international power provider e.on that was set up in December to offer hire purchase and leasing options for businesses looking to install low-carbon energy systems. e.on, which has been involved in wind energy projects since 1992, set up its SES business in response to government-set carbon reduction targets, with the aim of providing carbon reduction technology to corporate and public sector customers.
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Past the worst
According to figures compiled by the Banking Association of Slovenia, Slovenias leasing market outperformed expectations in 2008, achieving a 13 percent increase on business written over the full year compared to 2007, when a 4.3 percent contraction in the market had been predicted by Leaseurope.
CSI Leasing establishes new German service business.
Independent international IT lessor CSI Leasing has added to its armada of 24 subsidiaries with the establishment of a full-service German IT company, CSI Lifecycle Services. CSI Lifecycle Services will provide what it terms a complete IT solution, comprising services including program design, roll-out, software and hardware installation, maintenance, de-installation, replacement, and disposal options. The company will be a joint venture between CSI Leasings German arm, and IT service company ergoTrade AG
Albis Leasing acquires 48.8% stake in Gallinat
German heavy CV lessor Albis Leasing has acquired a minority stake of 48.8 percent in German Gallinat Bank, with an option to purchase the remaining shares.
Raiffeisen racks up healthy volumes with NACCO
Raiffeisen-Leasing International GmbH (RLI), the holding company of the Raiffeisen leasing network in the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) region, has transacted a significant amount of business since it signed an exclusive cooperation agreement with lift truck manufacturer NACCO Materials Handling Group (NMHG) last June.
Leasing in Bulgaria runs out of steam
Whereas the countrys total lease book stood at 2.9 billion at the close of March, 39 percent up year-on-year, the figure represented a 1.6 percent drop from Decembers peak, and a drastic deceleration from the nations final-quarter 2008 inter-annual growth rate of 60 percent