All articles by Fred Crawley
Fred Crawley
Hungarian leasing in freefall
Hungarys leasing community is faced with an ever-worsening business outlook, as the Central European state struggles with an ailing currency and soaring delinquency rates. According to the Hungarian Leasing Association, January and February of 2009 saw construction equipment finance down by a crippling 82 percent compared to the same months in 2008, with the machinery sector taking a similar 62 percent hit.
Close buys Tokyo Leasing’s UK book
Close Leasing has bought the British lease book of Japanese lessor Tokyo Leasing, with an NBV of around £14 million (15.6 million), for an undisclosed sum. Close Leasing director Paul Bartley commented that the acquisition was a good strategic fit within the Close groups business model, and would prove a good resource for accelerating growth plans. Whilst the individual transaction sizes were below our normal threshold, he added, the make-up of the portfolio in terms of both customer and asset type falls very much in line with the business of CLL’s parent company Close Asset Finance, whose resources and expertise we will use when it comes to asset recovery, storage and resale for any problem accounts
NACFB calls for talks with funders
The National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers (NACFB) has made good on its promise to increase its engagement with Britains leasing and asset finance brokers in 2009, announcing plans for further high-profile discussion events after the success of two round table meetings held in Manchester in February, and London at the end of March. The meetings, held between the NACFB board and more than 60 brokers, were aimed at setting out the concerns and issues affecting the role of business introducers in the ongoing recession, key among them being the continued blockade on bank funding being experienced by many brokers.
Denton Wilde Sapte promotes new partner
Law firm Denton Wilde Sapte has acquired a new asset finance partner, through the promotion of asset finance lawyer Sarah Dyke in the firms annual partner elections.
TransLinc provides 72 Citroën LCVs on CH
North East Derbyshire District Council has received 72 new Citron light commercial vehicles through local authority fleet specialist TransLinc The decision to replace the existing fleet came from a review undertaken by the council and housing management provider Rykneld Homes, which will use the vehicles to provide maintenance and repairs to over 8,000 tenants in the region.
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Bibby to exhibit at IMHX
As part of its drive to increase its spread of business in the Materials Handling sector, Bibby Leasing has confirmed that it will exhibit at the bi-yearly IMHX show at the NEC indoor arena in Birmingham, from 2-5 March next year. Bibby, which formed a specialist Industrial Equipment division in 2007 to handle MH assets, will be represented by Sales Manager John Bradshaw, who commented that Bibby will be explaining our range of services to visitors on our stand in hall 20. IMHX, one of the ten largest trade shows in the UK, will showcase MH equipment manufacturers from around the world, as well as featuring health and safety systems, software, recruitment, training and a wealth of other interests connected with the world of logistics.
Bulgaria running on empty as defaults up 500%
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 stumble down from Decembers peak, and a drastic deceleration from the nations Q4 2008 interannual growth rate of 60 percent.
JCB says Budget will benefit mixed hire firms
JCB Finance has praised the temporary doubling of tax relief on plant purchases over £50,000 (57,000) announced in last months Budget, despite confirmation from HMRC that the move will not benefit hire companies offering self-drive equipment, which form the greater part of the plant hire market.
Textainer confirms hunt for 3-4 new fleet acquisitions
As discussed in this months Leasing Life, the largest box fleets dictate conditions for the rest of the market through their pricing, and one lessor is growing to dwarf its competitors. The enormous Textainer now operates nearly 10 percent of the worlds 25 million TEUs (22ft Equivalent Units, used as a standardised measure of fleets, which may comprise many different actual box sizes), and is getting on for twice the size of its nearest competitors.
100-strong CV deal for Lloyds TSB Autolease
Contract Hire giant Lloyds TSB Autolease has funded the acquisition of 101 Fiat Grande Punto vans by power provider E.ON, in a deal motivated by the clients need for lower fuel bills, capex and carbon dioxide emissions in its meter reading fleet. The 5 year contract hire agreement, based on an assumption of 30,000 miles per year per van, was masterminded by Fiat Professionals national contract hire and leasing manager, Colin Parnell, and Grahame Neagus, the head of Autoleases CV division.