All articles by Richard Irvine-Brown
Richard Irvine-Brown
Kwik-Fit seeks leasing partners for SME expansion
Kwik-Fit Fleet (KFF), the fleet service arm of Kwik-Fit, is seeking business with a wider range of leasing companies, as it looks to expand the focus of its repair and maintenance offerings from large corporate customers to the SME market The change is the first significant move in an expansion drive planned by the Japan-based Itochu Corporation, which bought the business in 2011.
UK leasing celebrates with pub quiz
In a heated battle for supremacy in UK leasing, Bank of America and Aldermore went head-to-head and it was BofA which triumphed in the end As far as general knowledge goes anyway, as the US firm won the first UK leasing industry pub quiz hosted this week by pan-European leasing recruitment specialists New Leaf Search. Gathered together in a central London pub, leading asset finance companies divided into teams to answer questions ranging from sport to music to general knowledge, with a handful of questions supplied by Leasing Life magazine, including: After passenger cars and LCVs, what was the most commonly leased asset type in Germany in 2011
Marshall, Arval and others take key BVRLA spots
The heads of UK fleet leasing firms Arval, Alphabet and Marshall Leasing have taken new roles with the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA) as appointed a raft of executives, to its Committee of Management. Peter Cakebread, managing director of Marshall Leasing, was appointed vice-chairman of the BVRLA at the trade bodys annual general meeting and will take over as chairman from Neil Cunningham in May 2013. Richard Schooling, chief executive of Alphabet, Bart Beckers, managing director of Arval, Kaye Ceille, managing director of Avis Budget UK, and Andrew Morley, sales and marketing director of Prohire, all joined the Committee of Management.
Arval takes BCA as UK auction partner
Arval, the fleet arm of French bank BNP Paribas, has signed a three-year contract with British Car Auctions (BCA), the UKs largest auction company. The contract includes remarketing, customer collections and end-of-term inspections of Arval cars and LCVs by BCA, as well as performing the back office functions for Arvals trade platform Arval Motor Trade.
Australia office upgrade for WCG
White Clarke Group (WCG), technology provider to the automotive and asset finance sectors, is moving to larger offices in Miller Street, at the heart of North Sydneys business district. James Guerin, director of WCG in Asia-Pacific said the move reflects our continuing confidence in our position in the marketplace, our confidence in our CALMS2 product and our confidence in our staff.
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UK asset finance above 2008 levels – FLA
Some UK asset finance markets are writing more new business than they were before the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008, according to the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) First quarter 2012 sub-£20m asset finance deals were up 13%, year-on-year, including a 26% rise in plant and machinery finance; an 18% rise in IT equipment finance and 16% rise in commercial vehicle finance.
Fleet Friday: new appointments, used prices, EVs
Philip Allan has been appointed national fleet and business sales manager for Seat and Matthew Dale has joined Nissan from Lombard as national LCV sales manager.
BMW FS profit contribution drops, Q1
Both revenue from financial services and the contribution of finance to total revenue of the BMW Group were up, year-on-year, according to the companys first quarterly results of 2012.
Finance directory for UK SMEs launched at NACFB seminar
Developed by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) in conjunction with the National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers (NACFB) and with the assistance of the Asset Based Finance Association (ABFA), the aim of the online directory is to make alternative lines of funding easier to find and the bodies anticipate it will help 60,000 small businesses in its first year.
Fuel duty dominates UK fleet Budget response
Leading figures from the fleet sector have given a mixed response to the UK coalition governments 2012 budget on Wednesday, although displeasure at the coming rise in fuel duty was unambiguous. While several expect to benefit from a variety of corporate and personal tax reliefs, they have also bemoaned a lack of credit or action on the cost of fuel.