All articles by Grant Collinson
Grant Collinson
Liberty Leasing continues to grow in 2011
UK asset finance house Liberty Leasing has enjoyed continued growth in the last seven months after a record year in 2010. The Southampton-based funder recorded pre-tax profit of £712,783 for the year to 31 December 2010, a 51% increase on 2009. Steady growth in the companys loan book over 2010 continued into 2011 with an 11.7% increase for the first seven months to 31 July 2011 to £29.4m.
McGovern to head De Lage Landen green tech arm
De Lage Landen has appointed to Mark McGovern as general manger of its Clean Technology Group, the asset finance companys renewable energy arm. In his new role heading up Clean Technology he will be responsible for the management, strategy and continued expansion of the division, which has provided equipment financing to the renewable energy sector since it was launched in January 2010
Lombard funds growth for manufacturer AEV
Lombard has provided funding for a 160-year-old Merseyside manufacturing business to help the company boost production. Lombard provided a £190,000 finance package to Advanced Electrical Varnishes (AEV) as part of a £300,000 investment by the company to boost its production capacity AEV, which began as Joseph Kemp & Co in 1849, also received £44,000 from Wirral Councils Think Big Investment Fund as part of its development.
Securitisation reaches Zenith but not Provecta
Fleet management company Zenith has completed a securitisation facility to provide further funding for growth. The company, formerly Zenith Provecta, announced the facility a week after rebranding, dropping Provecta from its name.
16% fleet growth for Hitachi Capital VS
Hitachi Capital Vehicle Solutions saw a 6% growth in profit for the last financial year fuelled by an increase in fleet size. The vehicle leasing division of Hitachi Capital recorded pre-tax profit of £11.5m for the year ending 31 March 2011. The Berkshire-based Vehicle Solutions increased its fleet by 16% to more than 50,000 partly as result of the acquisition of 6,200 vehicle portfolio from Newton Vehicle Rentals in December 2010.
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Brokered asset finance struggles but still up
The annual survey of the National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers (NACFB) shows total lending through its members over the 12 months to 30 June 2011 increased 14% from the previous 12 months to £8.6bn. Of the areas of commercial finance which saw growth, asset finance, which makes up 12% of NACFB members business, struggled most over the period.
Leasing Q2 profit drops slightly across Europe
The European leasing industry has seen a more modest second quarter in 2011 following the significant growth in 2010 and the first quarter of this year. The second Leaseurope Index, a quarterly survey of European lessors by the industry body, showed pre-tax profit was down 5.7% from the first quarter to 740m.
De Lage Landen sees 52% increase in H1 profit
The Netherlands-based asset finance company, a subsidiary of Rabobank, made 154m in the six months to 30 June 2011 compared with 101m for the same period last year.
LeasePlan reveal record half-year net profit
The Dutch-based fleet lease and management companys interim results for the first half of the year revealed net profit of 136m to 30 June compared with 90m for the same period last year. Vahid Daemi, chairman and chief executive of LeasePlan, said solid growth in profit was testament to the strength of the business against a back drop of a global economy which continues to present challenges.
GE boost structured finance with Simeons hire
GE Capital has expanded its UK and cross-border structured asset-based lending with the appointment of James Simeons as corporate originations and structuring director. The former JP Morgan executive director joins GE Capitals Corporate Structured Finance Team from Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ, where he was responsible for trade receivables securitisation.