All articles by Fred Crawley
Fred Crawley
Silom looks to future asset values
A new entrant to the industry, Silom, is looking to get involved in leasing deals by offering its agreement to buy assets at the end of lease terms for a cash present value.
Arval to take over Commerz Real fleet property
The German subsidiary of BNP Paribas-owned fleet giant Arval is to take over Commerz Real Autoleasing, the vehicle leasing arm of the Commerz Real group. As a result of the deal, Arval Germanys fleet will grow by more than 50 percent to reach a total size of more than 36,000 vehicles, and its employee headcount will increase to more than 200. The takeover is still subject to authorisation by the German Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) and the German Cartel Office, but is expected to occur in the first quarter of 2011.
Business Confidence Survey
Invigors, in conjunction with Leasing Life, is updating the European asset finance confidence survey The survey provides an authoritative, up-to-date perspective on the outlook for asset finance across Europe Whether youre a bank-owned organisation, independent finance company, captive, or broker, help us to chart the changes and voice your opinion by taking part by 31 December.
Hostile bid for Davenham
David Anthony, the former CEO of Hitachi Capital in the UK, has enlisted ex-Moneyway CEO Gary Jennison to help him take control of struggling asset finance lender Davenham Group plc. In an extraordinary meeting expected to be held around 10 January, shareholders of Davenham (in which Anthony has a 14.9 percent stake) will vote on whether to remove current directors Paul Burke and James Kerr-Muir, and appoint Anthony and Jennison as non-exectutive chairman and CEO respectively.
De Lage Landen bags SDF vendor program
Eindhoven-based vendor finance specialist De Lage Landen has launched a finance program for agricultural machinery manufacturer Same Deutz-Fahr in the UK, to match the existing partnership between the two companies in the USA. Under the agreement, De Lage Landen will act as the exclusive finance provider for Same Deutz-Fahr sales in the UK, operating under the label SDF Financial Services
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Investec buys Masterlease
Investec Capital Markets has acquired Masterlease UK, the countrys twelfth largest contract hire company, from Ally Financial Inc
Lex Autolease boss to step down
Nigel Stead, the man who oversaw the creation of the UKs biggest fleet business, is to step down from his role at the head of Lex Autolease next June He will be succeeded by operations director Rick Francis, who had been commercial director of Lex Vehicle Leasing before the merger of its parent bank HBOS with Lloyds Banking Group (LBG) at the start of 2009.
Industry squares up to change
Speakers at the Leasing Life asset finance conference in Milan have urged the industry to open up to new ways of working as markets gradually return Patrick Gouin, global head of SG Equipment Finance, underlined the complexity arising from the breadth of operations undertaken by asset finance companies, and challenged business leaders to focus in on news KPIs. He said customer and employee satisfaction were in danger of being eclipsed once more by the desire to centralise operations, grow overall portfolios and write business at competitive rates.
Sangwin joins BNP Paribas
Keith Sangwin has joined BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions, taking a position as head of dealer accounts for its Equipment and Logistics Solutions Division. The division incorporates the recently rebranded groups materials handling, commercial vehicle, agricultural and construction asset leasing operations, including the Albury Asset Rentals and Humberclyde brands. Sangwin has been in the leasing industry for more than 30 years, and has held several senior positions within the asset finance function at Barclays, most recently as Sales Director of the banks Asset & Sales Finance division.
Boat funders flood gap left by BMF
The closure of Barclays Marine Finance, at a time when its market continues to show a gradual uplift, comes as a reminder that conditions are still tough.