All articles by Fred Crawley
Fred Crawley
Behind the moves: Streamlining business
While the European arm of Key Equipment Finance (KEF) appears to have emerged from recessionary consolidation in good health, a cluster of recent departures from the business has raised fresh questions about the strategic ambition of the American-owned lessor. Senior credit analyst Phil Bennett and UK & Ireland credit manager Ian Millington are known to have resigned from the business, with Bennett moving to a role within SG Equipment Finance and Millington moving to a national finance manager role at auctions and valuation company Edward Symmons.
Cassiopae buys InfoParc
Asset finance software provider Cassiopae has bought a 100 percent share of fleet management software firm InfoParc from former owner Europ Assistance, a subsidiary of Italian financial services group Generali The acquisition of Paris-based InfoParc, which achieved a revenue of 1.5 million over 2009, will add fleet management expertise to Cassiopaes capabilities in the general asset finance sector, and will allow a combined software offering for vehicle finance and fleet management.
Ultimate Asset Finance launched
UK invoice finance provider Ultimate Finance Group (UFG) has set up a new asset finance division, Ultimate Asset Finance, providing another example of the increasing connections between the asset finance and invoice finance industries.
Behind the moves: Who is China’s largest lessor?
CIT departures pave way for a new number one UniTrust Finance expects triple-figure growth for the business this year
Germany suffers 11% decline in new business in Q110
While the German leasing industry has not yet seen definite signs of the market-wide consolidation that many commentators anticipated coming into 2010, an alarming set of first-quarter results have made the outlook for the rest of the year considerably bleaker. In a development that German leasing association BDLs president Martin Mudersbach called not at all satisfactory, new business across the associations members fell 11% year-on-year in the three months leading up to 31 March 2010.
Subscribe to our Newsletter
Get industry leading news, data and analysis delivered to your inbox
Comment: Amstel launches training seminar on leasing
Against the general trend of the European leasing industry, ABN Amro subsidiary Amstel Lease remains proudly independent from its parent, both in branding and in structure. The company has recently started providing seminars and training to bank branch employees, aimed at giving sales staff the experience to know when and how to spot an opportunity to introduce lease business to Amstel.
The Foreign Legion
Sad news first, with confirmation coming to Leasing Life that Japanese lessor IBJ Leasings office in London has stopped writing new business for the immediate future.
GE Capital sees ‘strong increase’ in business
The leasing arm of GE Capital has seen a strong increase in the amount of business it receives from brokers, Leasing Life has learned. The move signals a return of confidence in the UK leasing marketplace, particularly as it coincides with rumours that Barclays Asset & Sales Finance has also returned to receiving intermediary-sourced business.
Reaping the rewards
After Ross made the decision to increase investment in the Ayreshire brokers staff and systems during the markets darkest hour, FIF now has a well-developed sales support machine, and a place among the tiny pool of financial services businesses awarded gold status by business standards body Investors in People.
Exclusive: IBJ to stop lending in the UK
Japanese lessor IBJ Leasing is to stop writing new business from its office in London, Leasing Life learned yesterday It is understood that the lender, which was active in both motor finance and small ticket plant leasing, will let its portfolio run down for a time after receiving instructions from its parent, the Industrial Bank of Japans leasing division, last week