All articles by Jared Fortune
Jared Fortune
Leasing Foundation Fellows named
Newly established leasing and asset finance organisation the Leasing Foundation has announced a team oflawyers, consultants, directors, chief executives and industry leaders from across the leasing sector as itsFounding Fellows; a steering group to help drive the Foundation’s work.
UK brokers using asset finance creatively to free up cash
Three-quarters of UK brokers have used asset finance to help businesses release capital by lending on assets completely unrelated to the purpose of the loan.
New Leaf Search goes extra 13.1 miles for Cancer Research
After speculating on challenges that include shaving heads, sky diving and desert trekking, the New Leaf team considered Octobers half marathon event at the Royal Parks a suitable venture. A spokesperson for the company said choosing Cancer Research was an easy decision as the work conducted by the charity is close to New Leafs heart.
Serbian central bank acts to revive leasing market
By removing the requirement for leasing firms to hold 10% of the funding borrowed from overseas in reserve, the executive board of the National Bank of Serbia said it hoped to create scope for lowering the cost of leasing and thereby strengthening the competitive position of leasing providers. In a statement, the board said: The Executive Board judges that the exemption of leasing providers from this obligation will make financial leasing a more attractive financial product and help support and promote the financial leasing market as an integral segment of the domestic financial market.
Syscap calls on UK government to stimulate non-bank lending
UK independent finance provider Syscap has called on the government to open up lending schemes such as Enterprise Finance Guarantee (EFG) and Funding for Lending (FLS) to non-bank asset finance providers to boost small business lending The specialist IT lender pointed to the continued fall in EFG lending, despite the government exposing the programme to larger businesses in January, as evidence the scheme was failing. The value of loans offered by the scheme in the first six months of 2012 fell 10% year-on-year and was also down on the previous six months.
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Banks back yachts despite cautious terms
Despite the pessimism of the current economic climate, both Barclays and RBS asset finance arm Lombard have signalled renewed commitment to marine finance although perhaps with more stringent lending criteria than in years gone by. Bob Atkinson, Barclays vice president of credit structuring, corporate jets and superyachts, acknowledged at Februarys Superyacht Fiscal Summit that the days of yacht finance for all had disappeared, making way for a period of increased client scrutiny and mutually beneficial arrangements. In a recent article published by Superyacht News, Atkinson is claimed to have mentioned that deals are continuing to be done with clients that wish to use finance and offer Barclays residual benefits.
LeasePlan “crisis-proof” with ?123m profit
LeasePlan attributes the difference to one-off post-employment benefits, as well as a unique special income event during H1 2011, which brought in30m on the back of a settlement with tax authorities regarding indirect taxes (VAT)
Azule agrees major deals with UK hire companies for festiva
Specialist audiovisual equipment lessor Azule Finance has recently provided finance for equipment to be used in music festivals including Latitude, Secret Garden Party, Silverstone, Creamfields and SW4 Responding to a surge indemand for high-spec lighting and audio equipment ahead ofthe lucrative summer festival period, Azule has financed £700,000 worth of equipment for hire companies NiteLites and Colour Sound Equipment (CSE)with term lengthsof 36 months on both deals.
Leasedrive wins four-year Selecta fleet deal
Independent vehicle management group Leasedrive has acquired a four-year contract to provide a fully-outsourced fleet management service to vending operator Selecta. Paul Fleming, sales and marketing director at Leasedrive, said the Selecta business model had changed from a price-driven, multi-provider framework to a service-partnership model.The total supply chain management service includes coverage on contract hire, service, accident management and short-term rental.
Fleet Friday: Ryder, Volvo, BVRLA
Weekly fleet news from Europe and the UK including Ryders Euroway purchase, Volvos corporate boom and the BVRLA response to UK business car figures