Materials handling veteran Kevin Lofting has
joined Rivermore Asset Finance as part of a bid to triple the
company’s turnover over the next two years.
The founder and former managing director of
Albury Asset Rentals has come out of retirement to take on the role
at the UK materials handling and warehouse equipment finance
specialist.
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Lofting said: “Over the next couple of years,
we’re looking to take it probably from about £10m a year, up to
about £30m a year.
“We’ll be using our specialist and
relationship skills, rather than general funding skills. It’s a
market which is very fragmented at the moment – some new people
have come in but there’s no main funder anymore.”
This means there is room for a service and
relationship-focused company like Rivermore to expand and Lofting,
who has previously worked with director of operations Nigel Pratt
and director Adrian Langford, was hired to help bring this
about.
In the market currently, the funders present
are failing to distinguish between smaller and larger dealers and
are therefore failing to build strong relationships. There is also
a lack of interest in the UK materials handling market, which is
worth only about £500m a year.
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By GlobalData“There’s a window of opportunity for us and
we’re looking to build on that,” Lofting said.
“The bigger finance companies tend to dismiss
[the UK market] compared to the commercial vehicle and farming
markets, which are much larger. They don’t supply the right
services.”
He added that he believes there is a lack of
specialist ability in the materials handling market – something he
feels is fundamental to the segment.
“It’s a question of approach – you’ve got to
get the structure right and you’ve got to get the rates right.
That’s not something that’s foreign to us,” he said.
Lofting decided not to take a specific job
title because he simply did not want one – but he is confident of
being able to do what he was hired to do.
“I was MD of Albury for 13 years and that
really didn’t tell people what I did either,” he said.
“I’m involved in strategy, philosophy
and creating new business. We’re very confident we will be where we
want to be in two years.”
Lofting, who left BNP Paribas Leasing
Solutions subsidiary Albury at the end of 2009, is credited with
helping the company to write up to £100m (€117m) a year during his
13-year tenure.
In 2010, he was awarded the Fork Lift Truck
Association Lifetime Achievement Award and has overseen the
financing of more than £1bn worth of materials handling equipment
during his career.
Rivermore director Adrian Langford said: “I’m
delighted that Kevin has joined us and we’re already working on
growth strategies for the business.
“The markets we work in have dramatically
evolved since Kevin and I first conducted business together back in
1986 but the need to deliver a world-class service to
manufacturers, dealers and customers is still critical.”
Rivermore was established in 2004, and is
based in Hampshire.
claire.hack@vrlfinancialnews.com
