All articles by Brendan Malkin
Brendan Malkin
Dowden-Yates departs equigroup
Peter Dowden-Yates has left the UK-based arm of asset management company equigroup Limited after two years in charge of its middle and back office operations. Dowden-Yates was responsible for the middle and back office operations of equigroups European operation including management of head-funding and asset management relationships throughout the UK, Ireland, Spain and the Nordics, according to his LinkedIn entry.
Grenke reports continuing prof
Grenkeleasing reported a continuation in earnings as net profits rose during the last quarter driven by growth in its non German operations and insurance arm as well as by disposals. The Baden-Baden based micro-ticket lessor also saw year-on-year growth of 200,000 in its net income. Post-tax profits totalled 5.8 million during Q1 2010, 700,000 up on Q4 2009, although still well down on 7.2 million achieved during the first three months of last year.
BMW FS holding up parent, Q1 results reveal
BMW today linked its return to health to excellent operating profits at its leasing division, as well as soaring demand for luxury vehicles in China. The German car manufacturer said that Q1 earnings at BMW Financial Services, which reported profits before interest and tax of 213 million – against 70 million in Q1 2009 as one of the main factors behind its swing back into profit.
The work never stops
In a special report, Leasing Life reviews the collections functions of five leading equipment finance companies Here, Brendan Malkin examines the key issues facing heads of collections as European leasing slowly returns to good health. For those writing the history of asset finance and the 2009-10 recession, writedowns, bad debt, late payments, and fraud will feature across many pages.
New dawn of co-operation
As factoring brokers Cashflow and Hilton-Baird exchange business with lessors, Merchant and Norton Folgate embark on structured turnaround deals Brendan Malkin and Fred Crawley report on these overlaps in asset-based lending and the opportunities they pose to finance companies.
Subscribe to our Newsletter
Get industry leading news, data and analysis delivered to your inbox
All change
Lessors might have seen their budgets crippled by the recession, but they still appear willing to invest in their asset management operations according to Equigroups European arm, which plans to establish partnerships with more finance houses and expand into new territories in mainland Europe.
Editor’s letter: The raging fires of vendor finance
GE Capital, hard-faced after months of media hammering, told Leasing Life last month in a series of interviews that it has signed as many as 26 new vendor finance programmes since the beginning of 2010 (see GE Capital back on the offensive). Its industrial segment, despite recently losing its managing director, Marie Dunkley, is also said to be going great guns reporting 10 new deals in 2010 alone, including several vendor finance (VF) deals.
Baldock the revolutionary
Lombards managing director Alex Baldock is hardly afraid of change It was he, after all, who spearheaded his companys recent integration into its parent, as well as its shift to signing bigger-ticket deals But how is he coping with probably his greatest pressure yet: to make Lombard the engine of growth for SMEs
Priestman steps down from Lombard
Richard Priestman, a key figure at Lombard who has played a central role in the development of its expanding corporate arm, has stepped down from the company to pursue other interests. The move, which is believed to have taken place in recent days, takes place as Lombard, one of Europes largest leasing businesses, seeks to ramp up both its corporate arm, which Priestman was responsible for, and also its retail business, which specialises in lending to SMEs.
UK lease broker launches fund
Merchant House Finance (MHF) has launched a £2.5 million fund aimed at struggling businesses, in a move that reflects its transition from a lease brokerage to a turnaround specialist. Companies that borrow money from City-based MHF fund are charged 12 percent interest, and do so in exchange for giving up some equity in their business