In this issue

Welcome to Leasing Life’s quarterly e-magazine for professionals involved in asset finance and leasing, focused on the UK, where we are based, and also covering Europe (and beyond).  

In this edition, we look at various aspects of the digitalisation of the sector, as many aspects of business become more data driven and increasingly interconnected. Consumption-based leasing (or pay-per-use) is growing in popularity in a number of different industries globally. While the concept is hardly new, the rise of the Internet of Things has made tracking the usage of products easier to use and making this business model look increasingly attractive for all kinds of business sectors from leasing plant equipment and machinery, fleets of cars, farming equipment, medical diagnostic equipment, construction equipment and IT equipment … just to name the most popular.  

Ironing out the wrinkles of consumption-based leasing looks at some of the problems that need to be overcome if this financing method is to become successful. 

Another aspect of how digitalisation is having an effect on asset finance and leasing is in the area of 'credit decisioning' as computers are learning how to process ever more complex sets of information in a systematic way. We look at the role of AI in leasing  in a feature by Dr Blaise Thomson, one of the key figures behind Apple’s Siri speech recognition technology, who is currently applying his brain power at Alfa iQ to machine learning and ‘credit decisioning’ (see The man behind the machine).  
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Another recurring theme in modern-day life is the quest for the holy grail of energy consumption – aka carbon neutrality. One of the developing areas in alternative energy uses is the mass deployment of hydrogen fuel for cars and other mobile devices (see Financing, a key enabler for carbon neutrality).  

Our country focus is on Italy (A return to form and the Cura Italia Decree), but we also look at the UK market for SME leasing customers (Why optimism reigns at UK’s Aldermore Bank) and our feature A Tour de France path to recovery takes a broader European perspective on emerging from the pandemic for leasing services providers.   

Not forgetting our cover theme, which considers Ireland’s past and future as a hub for aviation finance. Will Joe Biden’s tax plans bring Ireland's aviation leasing back down to earth? considers whether the Republic is threatened by the OECD’s recent push to introduce a level playing field for corporation tax, while Ireland and global tax avoidance offers a legal perspective by A&L Goodbody, and A spectacular takeoff and a crash landing: the story of GPA looks at the beginnings of aircraft leasing in Ireland.