International lessors in
head-to-head fight for European market share.
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Europe’s largest leasing companies –
including GE Capital and UniCredit Leasing, as well as several
bank-owned lessors across the UK, France and Germany – have growth
in new markets and winning greater market share across Europe at
the top of their agendas, Leasing Life has learned.
GE Capital and Barclays Asset & Sales
Finance (BA&SF) both revealed last month the extent of their
expansion plans for 2010. UniCredit Leasing and Crédit Agricole
Leasing & Factoring also highlighted their key areas of growth
over the next 12 months.
This follows revelations in Leasing
Life last month that other European players, including
Deutsche Leasing, HSBC Equipment Finance and Raiffeisen Leasing,
are also planning growth across Europe.
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By GlobalDataExpanding globally
BA&FS is to begin expanding globally
following recent changes to its management structure.
Alex Brown, head of asset finance, said: “We
are now co-owners of our separate businesses globally along with
the relevant country heads, and it is that global franchise which
is of huge excitement going forward.”
John Bevan, BA&FS’ head of sales finance,
added that the company already has “a fit product footprint across
Europe” and wants to build on that and take on new markets.
This will mean working closely with Barclays’
existing businesses in Italy, Spain and Portugal, to see what their
growth plans are, as well as to find “synergies in other markets
where there’s growth potential”, according to Brown.
Similarly, GE Capital’s leasing arm plans to
begin growing in its key European markets in the UK, Italy, Germany
and France following a solid first quarter of 2010.
Following a 23% increase in volumes and 26 new
vendor finance programmes signed across Europe (excluding deals in
Italy, for which the exact figure was unavailable at time of going
to press), GE Capital is to continue looking for new business on a
“pan-European” basis, the US giant told Leasing Life.
GE Capital chief commercial officer in EMEA
Isabel Fernandez said: “In Europe, business in GE Capital EMEA has
a mandate to grow, and grow quite substantially.”
Fernandez said the company is also seeking new
vendor and distribution finance clients on a similar basis,
changing its focus from smaller to larger deals.
Other continental lessors, such as UniCredit
Leasing and Crédit Agricole Leasing & Factoring, also have
growth plans.
Crédit Agricole recently completed the merger
of its business and factoring units, and is now looking at new
prospects for growth, both at home and abroad. The company’s main
non-domestic leasing business unit is in the CEE region – with EFL,
Poland’s largest leasing company with a 12% market share.
Philippe Zamaron, deputy CEO and head of
international activity for the Paris-headquartered lessor, said
Poland represents a safe and stable market in which EFL can
grow.
“Our goal is to keep and consolidate our
dominant position in Poland,” Zamaron said, adding its Polish arm
can also benefit from a number of new business opportunities on the
horizon.
Crédit Agricole Leasing & Factoring does
not have a presence in other Eastern European countries and,
although Zamaron said it does not plan to expand business in the
CEE region, he does not exclude it either.
“Our target is to accompany the Crédit
Agricole Group in its European development,” he said.
UniCredit Leasing, meanwhile, plans to
strengthen its presence in Poland and further increase its presence
across the CEE region, where it already is the dominant lessor.
‘Patchwork to network’
Over the past two years, the Italian lessor
has built up a single leasing business, completing a shift from
“patchwork to network” so 17 countries are now operating under a
unique umbrella organisation, sharing the same name and
structure.
UniCredit Leasing’s CEO Massimiliano Moi
called the CEE region “our life insurance for the next 15 to 20
years”, and expects the high levels of growth and return to come
from the region.
Last year, despite existing in a shrinking
market, and witnessing an overall decline in new business of 35%,
UniCredit Leasing managed to gain market share in all the CEE
countries where it has a presence.
Moi said: “It is quite clear to us that as
soon as the recovery materialises, we are better positioned than
our competitors and ready for the next wave of growth.”
Specifically, the lessor has growth plans in
Turkey and Poland.
