The European leasing industry experienced
strong growth during the first six months of this year, largely due
to a strong big ticket performance in the Russian market.
The latest figures from the Leaseurope
biannual survey show total new business volume across the continent
stood at €115bn, up 10.1% from the €104.6bn recorded in the first
half of 2010.
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Of the three sectors individually recorded,
vehicle leasing performed the best over the period with new
business growing 11.3% to reach €62.8bn.
Equipment leasing also performed well,
increasing 10.5% year-on-year whereas the real estate sector
experienced a more moderate increase of 1.9%.
However, the figures were heavily influenced
by the performance of Russia, where business volume for the half
year more than doubled from last year’s €3.8bn to some €8bn.
If figures for the United Leasing Association
of Russia, Leaseurope’s newest member, are excluded from the total,
European equipment leasing volumes grew only marginally, gaining
0.8% compared to the first half of 2010. On the other hand, vehicle
leasing volumes in all countries excluding Russia remained strong,
improving by 10.1%.
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By GlobalDataA spokesperson for Leaseurope attributed this
incongruity to the large volume of big ticket leasing in the
Russian market distorting the figures for equipment leasing.
Overall, growth was reported across all member
nations with exception of the Mediterranean cluster of Spain,
Portugal, Italy and Greece where business volumes fell on last year
across all asset sectors.
The leasing associations of Sweden and
Slovenia also showed a decline in new business totals although some
sectors did experience growth.
Jukka Salonen, Leaseurope’s chairman and chief
executive of Nordea Finance said latest figures show European
lessors have been able to make the most of the economic recovery in
the first half of the year.
He added: “Vehicle leasing has literally been
the driving force behind the positive development in the overall
market, while equipment leasing in the EU was influenced by
continued cautiousness in companies’ investment spending.”
However, referring to concerns surrounding the
European sovereign debt crisis Salonen said: “Ensuring sustainable
levels of profitability will be the necessary condition for the
leasing industry to secure funding going forward. This means that
leasing companies will have to adjust their business models to meet
new market demands.”
grant.collinson@vrlfinancialnews.com
