Strong relationships with vendors and
dealers, specialised asset knowledge and a closer eye on the
structuring of deals at the expense of penetration rates will
ensure the prosperity of the leasing industry in years to come,
according to Simon Davies of De Lage Landen International.

“Although these are challenging times,” said Davies at Leasing
Life’s conference, “they are also times for establishing future
strategies, and taking advantage of opportunities. It is my belief
the industry can benefit.”

He argued that, for those lessors to survive the immediate
distress of the banking system, the demands of end users, resellers
and manufacturers in need of a calmer balance sheet could allow a
period of reasonable growth, despite circumstances of recession and
inflation.

The room for that growth, said Davies, was provided by the exit
from the market of those lessors that had “approached pricing and
structuring in an unreasonable manner”, or that had become
embroiled in the credit derivatives mess. “Simply put,” he said,
“there are less of us.”

Such circumstances, he said, provided time to “firm up
relationships with manufacturers, vendors, dealers and
customers”.