All articles by Grant Collinson
Grant Collinson
FLA defends leasing after BBC schools report
The Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) has countered a BBC investigation which suggested the mis-selling of leases to UK schools was a nationwide problem costing taxpayers millions of pounds. While the FLA said it takes the issue of lease mis-selling very seriously, it suggested the BBC 5 Live Investigates programme exaggerated the extent of the problem Julian Rose, head of asset finance at the FLA said the issue highlighted by the radio programme, which aired Sunday 8 January, was not as widespread as the investigation implied.
Shawbrook linked to Singers AF acquisition
RBS-backed savings and lending bank Shawbrook Bank has been linked to a takeover of Singers Asset Finance. Shawbrook, which is part-funded by RBS Equity Finance, launched in October 2011 with the stated intention of lending £250m in secured loans and commercial mortgages to UK SMEs over the next year
BNP Paribas cements Nissan Forklift vendor deal
BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions has strengthened its partnership with Nissan Forklift in the UK with the creation of Nissan Forklift Financial Solutions (NFFS). The two companies, which have had a vendor agreement in the UK since 1993, will continue as separate entities but finance provided through the partnership will be under the joint NFFS brand In the latest deal BNP Paribas will provide a wholesale finance product to allow UK Nissan dealers to stock more trucks and will also continue to providing funding for the Japanese manufacturers end users.
Grenke Leasing NBV up 24% in 2011
Continued growth across European markets helped Grenke Leasing to a 23.7% increase in new business volume in 2011. The German firm recorded 857.5m in new business during 2011 compared to 693m in 2010, which exceeded the companys target of 20% growth for the year. Grenke experienced significant increases in leasing business outside of Germany, particularly in Italy which became the second non-domestic market to exceed 100m in new business along with France.
Lombard funds lab machine for test specialists
The asset finance facility will allow Alpha Biolaboratories, which specialises in DNA and drug testing, to bring in-house a hair alcohol testing service with the purchase of a TSQ Quantum testing machine The machine uses hair samples to detect alcohol consumption over the previous three to six months and is used as an alternative to blood testing which can only detect alcohol consumed a few days prior to the test.
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Fraud stories top leasing news in 2011
Earthquakes in New Zealand, Turkey and not least Japan caused devastation while the uprisings of the Arab Spring toppled seemingly immovable autocrats and US Special Forces finally caught up with the world’s most wanted man, Osama Bin Laden
US leasing confident of growth in 2012
According to the 2012 Equipment Leasing & Finance US Economic Outlook published by the Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation (ELFF), investment in equipment and software will grow by 9% in 2012. The software leasing market, which grew 10.5% in 2011 and has experienced growth for eight consecutive quarters, is set to see the strongest growth at between 8 and 10% during the first half of 2012.
Built to last
Manufacturing is for many nations wrapped up with a sense of national pride and many in Europe seem inclined to mourn its decline
New management team at Lombard Corporate
The asset finance subsidiary of RBS appointed Ian Nelson and Chris Black to its Corporate Asset Finance (CAF) team as head of UK origination and head of UK relationship management respectively. Paul Caskey has also been appointed as head of Large Corporate Asset Finance (LCAF), the division which focuses on lending to the top 350 FTSE-listed companies.
Fleet Friday VI: Creditsafe, DRIVE, Leasedrive
Nearly one-fifth of commercial vehicle lessors are not taking proper precautions to mitigate the risk of exposure to near-insolvent businesses, according to business information service Creditsafe.