All articles by Grant Collinson
Grant Collinson
European leasing survey now open
Leaseurope and leasing advisory service Invigors are updating their joint survey of business confidence in the European leasing industry The survey, which will generate the second edition of the bi-annual Business Confidence Survey for 2011, is now open online. The two organising bodies have invited all European leasing industry professionals to take part and the findings will help to assess how current economic turmoil will affect the leasing market in Europe over the coming year.
Azule turns it up to 11 with loudspeaker deal
ML Executives used an asset finance facility from Azule, who specialise in production, broadcast and leisure equipment, to purchase a d&b audiotechnik J-series Loudspeaker system which is valued at a round £250,000 and is capable of extreme high power, according to the manufacturers. ML, which hires out audio equipment for live music events including the 2011 UK tours of Bryan Ferry and Iron Maiden, had previously hired in the d&b equipment but decided to add it to its permanent stock.
ELFA: IASB changes to wipe $bns off US economy
Lease accounting changes could wipe $10bn off US GDP and $96bn off the net worth US companies, according to a study by the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA). The report entitled Economic Impacts of the Proposed Changes to Lease Accounting Standards,was conducted by information and analysis provider IHS and is the first to substantiate how the proposal might affect the US economy.
Fleet Friday V: Honda, Alphabet, Lex & BCA
That was the message given to delegates at the BVRLA conference by Ollie Parsons, national leasing and SMR manager at Honda UK.
SMEs prefer leasing, says Leaseurope report
A report published by Leaseurope into the use of leasing among SMEs in Europe found leasing was used by more of the companies surveyed than any individual form of bank lending. The report found 40% of SMEs used leasing in 2010 while the 2011 figure is expected to reach 43%
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NACFB unveils SME rebrand at AGM
The National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers (NACFB) used its AGM to announce a rebrand designed to highlight the bodys role in sourcing funding for UK SMEs. Adam Tyler, chief executive of the NACFB, said the main aim of the rebranding was to underline the associations role in putting brokers and SMEs in contact to secure funding.
Machinery drives German leasing expansion
German equipment leasing grew 12% in 2011 and increased market penetration thanks to a surge in production machinery leasing. The annual report of the German leasing industrys trade body, the Bundesverband Deutscher Leasing-Unternehmen (BDL), recorded 46bn of new equipment leasing business this year
Conference opens with big questions
That was the arresting message from John Howland-Jackson, chief executive of ING Lease, to the delegates at the Leasing Life European Conference. The first speaker of the day presented the point of view of the bank-owned leasing business, at times with startling honesty.
Captives helping to boost fleet says LPM
Captives have helped drive a 24% increase in finance for UK commercial fleets in the last year, according to lease management firm LPM Outsourcing. A funding gap left by increasingly cautious banks is being filled by the captive finance arms of vehicle manufacturers and the opportunities may even attract new captives to the market, according to LPMs Ian Dennis. Dennis said: We are seeing a definite rise in the levels of business that we handle for captives and we have a number of enquiries from manufacturers that are considering setting up a captive for the first time.
Thinking outside the box
Innovation was a word uttered frequently in Munich, and a changing approach to customerservice was highlighted as fundamental to meeting the challenges facing the leasing industry. Leaders from major bank-owned lessors, specialist independents and industry outsiders all called on a greater focus on the customer to help advance the industry. First to broach the topic in an entertaining and illuminating speech was Massimiliano Moi, chief executive of UniCredit Leasing, who introduced the audience to a new customer satisfaction technique he has implemented in his business.