Robert Keep, who bought his brokerage Norton Folgate back from
General Capital in March of this year, is one of the few leasing
executives openly planning business growth for 2010 – and one
branch of this strategy is an entry into the lower end of the
marine finance market.
Sales staff from exhibitors at the Southampton Boat Show told
Leasing Life this month that sales of boats in the
£250,000 – £20 million (€275,000 – €22 million) range
were well on their way back to 2007 levels, and Keep feels that the
leasing market’s potential to finance these craft should follow
suit.
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Despite Norton Folgate’s plans to develop its own book, Keep is
looking to enter this space purely as an asset finance broker.
After all, whereas many boat finance players have vanished in the
last 18 months, the marine finance arms of Lombard and Barclays are
resolutely picking up business, and would be a monstrous challenge
for any smaller lessor to compete with on price terms.
Whereas there are yacht sales brokerages out there which know
routes to finance, there are no pure asset finance introducers, and
Keep is confident that Norton Folgate’s equipment leasing
background can add enough value to pick up a good business
volume.
For any lessor looking to test the water in the marine market,
this could be a shrewd way in.
For a full rundown of Norton Folgate’s growth strategy, see
November’s Leasing Life.
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