The internal restructuring of One World
Leasing which began in August has culminated in the sale of its
lease portfolio by this small-ticket lessor to Investec Asset
Finance Plc, a member of the South African financial services
group, Investec.

The value of the portfolio could not be ascertained at press
time. Neither Investec nor One World could be reached for
comment.

The Manchester-based One World was founded in 2003 and is
majority owned by Oakwood Global Finance, a specialist in the
consumer finance sector. Last May, Oakwood received a capital
investment of €300m from Italian investors, CIR, and investment
bank, Merrill Lynch. Both parties acquired a 45 per cent stake each
in Oakwood.

In August, One World’s chief executive officer, Hugo James, told
Leasing Life in an interview that the company’s
restructuring and temporary market exit were a response to drastic
changes within the credit markets.

James pointed out that One World was not a balance sheet lender
and therefore had to borrow from financial institutions, making it
susceptible to the global liquidity crisis.

One World also issued a statement stating that it may have to
consider a potential exit. Its announcement on the website,
however, provided no indication of the future of One World.

It remains to be seen if Oakwood’s other investments in the UK
has been affected in the same way as One World.

Oakwood’s other investments in the UK include majority stakes in
Blue Motor Finance which provides car financing in the non-prime
sector, and edeus, a sub-prime mortgage lender.

Oakwood’s Australian sub-prime lender Pepper Home Loans was
reported to have greatly scaled down lending activity.