All articles by Claire Hack
Claire Hack
Siemens seeks to grow sales finance with banking licence
Siemens bid to expand its financial services using an official banking licence has been justified by a strong performance at financing subsidiary Siemens Financial Services (SFS). SFS has reported a 5.1% rise in new orders to 597m for the nine months to 30 June 2010
Arval starts SME line
Car leasing and fleet management company Arval has appointed a CEO for a newly created international business line dedicated to new channels and SMEs. Grgoire Chov will take on the role, after more than 10 years driving the development of Arvals International Business Office (IBO), as the BNP Paribas subsidiary looks to develop new distribution channels, as well as addressing the international SME market on a local basis.
Hitachi funds NHS vehicles
Hitachi Capitals commercial vehicles arm has signed a deal to supply 36 LCVs and HCVs to the National Health Services blood and transplant unit. The blue light Ford Focus estates are divided between dry freight and refrigerated 3.5- and 7.5-tonne vehicles, and funded on three- or five-year leases. The deal will help Hitachi Capital to cement its position in public sector leasing, a market it first entered five years ago.
Buchan up at Zenith Provecta
Independent fleet funding and management company Zenith Provecta has promoted Tim Buchan to chief executive officer as part of a management reshuffle. The company has made a total four new appointments to strengthen its senior management team, following the sale of a 60% stake to Morgan Stanley Private Equity (MPSE) in August. Andrew Cope, who helped to set up the company 21 years ago, has moved up to executive chairman, and Ian Hughes, formerly of Citroen, has been appointed to the role of commercial director.
Unworkable’: the verdict on new accounting rules
Attempts to explain the changes by Barbara Davidson, International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) technical director, were met by scepticisim at a joint meeting of the FLA and the UK Accounting Standards Board (ASB) in London last week. George Lynn, FLA asset finance chairman, said: This gives us an opportunity to express our incredulity that the standards the IASB have come up with are so complex
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Barclays funds haulage deal
Barclays Corporate Asset Finance (BCAF) has signed a multi-million pound deal with Eddie Stobart Ltd, a UK-based road haulage company. The investment includes two arrangements to fund skeletal and curtain-sided trailers, at a total of 265 units, and a cost of more than £5 million (5.7 million)
Tax funding in demand
Tax funding provider Syscap has accused HM Revenue and Customs of winding down its Time to Pay scheme, claiming that businesses can no longer rely on it Time to Pay provides a short-term payment holiday for businesses unable to meet their tax bill If businesses were unable to gain the tax relief, Syscaps tax funding could help to bridge the gap.
GE Capital hits the right note
GE Capital in the US offers commercial distribution finance for musical instruments, although it has yet to bring the facility to Europe. The company works with instrument manufacturers to set up inventory financing programmes for retailers who want to sell the products, offering cashflow facilities for stocking purposes. GE Money, another subsidiary of American behemoth GE, also works with consumers to provide finance for the purchase of instruments.
Profits soar at GE Capital
GE Capital has reported a reduction in global revenue coinciding with an upturn in profit for the nine months to end September 2010. Profit after tax rose 44 percent to $2.3bn in the first three quarters of the year, compared to $1.6bn for the same period in 2009. The performance reflects a repositioning of the company last year to become smaller and to continue focusing on the asset classes and markets where it is a recognised leader.
GRENKE eyes Turkey and Greece
Germanys GRENKE Group has reported strong growth for the first nine months of 2010, and unveiled its aspirations to enter markets in Turkey and Greece.