THE LEASING INDUSTRY BRIEFING

The latest news, views and numbers you need to know this month

News in Numbers

1st

Auxillias founders – chief executive Jo Davis and chief operations officer Daksha Mistry – said the UK-based asset finance legal and compliance services company reached its first anniversary in business in July.

25bn

The offer price on AerCap’s bid to buy rival GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS) in a deal approved by the EU last month. AerCap and Gecas are the world’s top two aircraft lessors by aircraft number and value, with an estimated $49,109m in combined portfolio value, according to KPMG.

36%

Equipment leasing in Spain grew by this amount in the first half of 2021, against the same period in 2020, to reach a total of €3.099bn, made up of plant, machinery, equipment, cars, vans, trucks and buses, according to the Asociación Española de Leasing y Renting (AELR). 

€80m

The upper estimate of Grenke's profit forecast for 2021. The Grenke AG board of directors said it expected its consolidated group net profit after taxes of between €60m and €20m. 

€7.6bn

The price at which NatWest is prepared to sell Ulster Bank‘s Lombard asset finance business (alongside part of its mortgage book, SME business operation and 25 branch locations) to Permanent TSB

People Moves

ACC Aviation appoints Berta as VP of new finance arm

Global aviation business ACC Aviation said it is expanding its service offerings with the appointment of in-house aviation finance specialist Viktor Berta. Berta will be joining as vice-president of its newly created Aviation Finance Practice. 

BNP Paribas appoints Sibel Alyar as GM of financial leasing Turkey

Sibel Alyar has been appointed as the general manager of BNP Paribas Finansal Kiralama, the Turkey subsidiary of BNP Paribas Group. Alyar, has worked for BNP Paribas Finansal Kiralama for about 11 years and was previously with Fortis Leasing and Dis Leasing.

Leminsky bows out of Grenke, Bücker to step in

The chair of the Grenke AG board of directors, Antje Leminsky, has decided for personal reasons to leave the company after eight years on the board, including three years as chair of the board. She is replaced by Michael Bücker.

BFS appoints Azam as regional head of corporate

SME funder Bibby Financial Services (BFS) has appointed Riana Azam as regional head of corporate in the North of England and Scotland.

Azam previously worked as a regional sales director for Nucleus Commercial Finance and has held senior roles at Metro Bank and Santander UK.

3stepIT appoints former TietoEVRY manager to global sustainability role

Tiia Katajamäki will report to the chief operations officer and is tasked with driving 3stepIT’s commitment to ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance), with an early focus on the company's zero carbon and zero waste agenda, the company said. 

This new role is an integral part of delivering on 3stepIT’s ambition to be a world leader in sustainability, working with its customers to eliminate electronic waste by ensuring business-critical technology is managed efficiently and responsibly.

Based in Helsinki, Katajamäki previously worked as the sustainability development manager at TietoEVRY, where she was responsible for the digital services company’s global energy roadmap and supply chain CR management. Before this, she held senior sustainability roles at the City of Helsinki, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland and Nokia.

Katajamäki is an economist by trade who has more than 12 years’ experience working in data management and business development.

British Ports Association chief executive Richard Ballantyne, following UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s announcement that the Freeports selection process will see the first sites in England set up by the end of 2021:

“This is a welcome development and by being more inclusive in terms of the number of freeports there might be, the government can now explore how to better deliver on its levelling up agenda without picking regions over each other. Coastal communities are often in areas of high deprivation and have also experienced challenges resulting from the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown so this potentially transformative policy will be welcomed across a range of suitable locations.”