Close Leasing has bought the British lease book of Japanese
lessor Tokyo Leasing, with an NBV of around £14 million (€15.6
million), for an undisclosed sum.
Close Leasing director Paul Bartley commented that the
acquisition was a “good strategic fit” within the Close group’s
business model, and would prove a good resource for accelerating
growth plans.
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“Whilst the individual transaction sizes were below our normal
threshold,” he added, “the make-up of the portfolio in terms of
both customer and asset type falls very much in line with the
business of CLL’s parent company Close Asset Finance, whose
resources and expertise we will use when it comes to asset
recovery, storage and resale for any problem accounts”.
Following the acquisition, Close Leasing has expanded its
Manchester-based team with additional operations and collections
staff, including former GE credit manager Liz Wadsworth.
Close Leasing has also developed its regional sales force through
the recruitment of Stephen Dewison, previously working with Bank of
Ireland, to the position of Midlands sales manager.
In addition, Martin Hammond has been transferred from a credit
role to manage sales in the North region, where he will be based in
Manchester.
Neil Davies, Director of Close Leasing, said: “CLL’s core
business goes from strength to strength, having achieved a monthly
profit in March after only 17 months trading. The acquisition takes
our NBV over £65M and puts us in a position where we expect to
achieve a cumulative profit by our year end in July, well ahead of
our budgeted plan.”
Fred Crawley
