Hitachi Capital has embarked on a
major push to increase its UK presence, with a fleet acquisition
and continued diversification in asset finance powered by increased
funding commitment from its Japanese parent.
Subsidiary Hitachi Capital Vehicle Solutions
bought UK rental company Newtown Vehicle Rentals, which went into
administration on 2 December.
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The sale of the business and 7,000-commercial
vehicle portfolio came following a failed attempt by the company’s
management and lenders to restructure the business over the past 21
months.
Dominic Wong, joint administrator from
Deloitte, said: “NVR has historically been a profitable and growing
business with robust revenues and a high quality customer base.
“The limited funding available in the recent
economic environment for new and replacement vehicles caused the
fleet to age, incurring greater maintenance costs which impacted
both profitability and cash flow.”
Hitachi Capital Vehicle Solutions chief
executive Simon Oliphant said: “Our focus for the next few weeks
will be ensuring that customers experience minimal disruption and
the retained staff commit to achieving this.”
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By GlobalDataOf NVR’s 131 employees, 98 left the business on
agreed terms prior to the sale and 33 employees have taken up new
contracts with Hitachi Capital.
Meanwhile, Hitachi Capital’s Business Finance
division is on a serious expansion drive under the sales leadership
of Marie Dunkley, who joined the business in the year’s second
quarter.
The ex-GE veteran has brought in a team of six
field-based sales staff to head up a new direct business unit, made
up of a mix of GE, Bank of Scotland and Barclays Asset & Sales
Finance alumni.
While Hitachi Capital Business Finance has
mostly been present in the market through its agricultural finance
and block discounting arms over the last year, the new direct unit
will allow it to build a larger book of construction, manufacturing
and transportation assets by selling straight to businesses.
In addition, Dunkley has overseen the launch of
a new vendor finance channel for HCBF, which is currently seeking
to establish relationships with manufacturers and dealers in the
construction and materials handling sector.
The push for materials handling business puts
Hitachi on a growing list of funders seeking to make waves in the
sector – Aldermore has recently started up a dedicated materials
handling division, while Close Asset Finance has also increased its
presence in the asset class.
Bibby Leasing, HSBC Equipment Finance and the
market’s current largest player BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions have
all also expressed desire for a greater participation in materials
handling asset finance.
Speaking about HCBF’s general expansion,
Dunkley said that she saw the company working with the ethos of a
“niche player”, but on a significantly larger scale.
“We want to be firmly on the list of companies
that business think of when looking to lease equipment,” she added.
“At the same time we want to be seen as real specialists in the
asset and customer types we work with”.
