Industry news

Equipment leasing in Spain grew 36% in the first half of 2021: AELR

1 August

Spanish companies invested €3.57bn in leasing equipment and real estate leasing in the first half of 2021, which was up 36.8 per cent on the same period in 2020, according to the Asociación Española de Leasing y Renting (AELR).

A breakdown shows that new equipment leasing (including plant, machinery, equipment, cars, vans, trucks and buses) grew 36.1 per cent against this time last year, to €3.099bn, while new real estate leasing reached €468,3m, 41.7 per cent higher year-on-year.

Regionally, Madrid leasing contracts were signed for €492,9m, down 5.8% on last year, while in Catalonia business volumes reached €811,2m, an increase of 77.7%.

The average duration of contracts in the first six months of this year was 56.6 months, compared to 55.7 months in the same period in 2020.

The delinquency ratio stood at 2.6 per cent for the first half of 2021, which was below the 3.2 per cent recorded last year. Market penetration reached 68.9 per cent this year, lower than the previous year of 75.6 per cent. For June 2021 against June 2020, leasing was €782,1m, up 132.9 per cent, while real estate leasing rose 52.7 per cent in June, to €54,6m.

29 July 

Acquis launches into Luxembourg and Poland

Acquis, a specialist insurance provider for asset finance and equipment leasing companies, has announced its expansion into Luxembourg and Poland in a move that takes its geographic coverage to a total of 16 countries across the European Union, plus the UK and Norway.

James Rudolf, chief commercial officer at Acquis, said: “Acquis partners with some of the largest leasing and asset finance companies across Europe, managing insurance on over €6bn of financed equipment and tracking more than 740,000 finance contracts. 

"Our move into two new EU countries this year is part of our long-term ambitious growth plan to become a global provider of insurance management programmes to the leasing industry. Luxembourg and Poland offer an excellent strategic fit for our expansion. Many of our existing multinational clients also already have operations in these regions.”

The service provider is currently in discussions to enter markets outside of Europe, Acquis said in a statement. 

28 July

Grenke AG raises profit forecast for 2021

Grenke AG, a global provider of leasing for SMEs, has raised its profit forecast for 2021.

The board of directors now expects a consolidated group net profit after taxes of between €60m and €80m, compared to the previous forecast of €50m to €70m published with the publication of the 2020 Annual Report. According to preliminary figures, Consolidated Group net profit reached €32m in the first six months (1H 2020: €33.2m).

Based on the preliminary half-year figures for 2021, the need for risk provisioning decreased. Due to the high level of uncertainty resulting from the pandemic, the board of directors had previously projected a higher level of risk provisioning. 

The main reason for the change in the assessment is the continued stable payment behaviour of customers. The board of directors of Grenke AG expects this to continue in the second half of 2021. The target range for net profit in the current fiscal year was raised as a result.

“Even though a high level of pandemic-related uncertainty remains, we are starting to see a normalisation in our operating business," said Grenke chief financial officer, Dr Sebastian Hirsch.

26 July 

Sale of Ulster's Lombard will bring NatWest closer to Irish exit

NatWest plans 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 in a deal worth about €7.6bn (£6.5bn).

Permanent TSB said it had entered into a non-binding memorandum of understanding with Ulster Bank owner NatWest.

In February, Ulster Bank announced a phased withdrawal from the Republic of Ireland over the coming years. NatWest said it would wind down its under-performing Irish arm, Ulster Bank, after a strategic review concluded it would not achieve sustainable returns. The UK bank announced its intention to sell €4bn (£3.47bn) worth of loans to Allied Irish Banks as part of its withdrawal.

It also said its business in Northern Ireland would be unaffected.

NatWest chief executive Alison Rose told reporters in February: "We have made the difficult decision to withdraw in an orderly way over a number of years. It is our preference to ensure our customers are supported as they transition during this period.

NatWest has 1.1 million customers in Ireland, along with 2,800 staff in 88 branches around the country. NatWest reported a £351m annual loss for 2020.

28 July

AerCap gains EU’s go-ahead for $30bn GE deal

A $30bn bid by Irish aircraft leasing company AerCap for General Electric’s aircraft leasing business was approved by EU antitrust regulators. 

The EU said the tie-up with General Electric Capital Aviation Services (Gecas) raised no concerns, saying the deal is “unlikely to give rise to serious competition concerns in the markets for aircraft and aircraft engine leasing.”

13 July

DLL commits to global intralogistics market

DLL, a Dutch-based provider of asset finance active in over 30 countries, said it plans to grow its activities in the global intralogistics market. 

This includes providing products and services tailored for warehouse automation projects, such as picking systems, automated storage solutions, conveyor systems, automated guided vehicles (AGVs), automated sorting solutions, robot palletising systems, baggage transport and sorting solutions, DLL said. 

30 June

Lectura joins Leaseurope as associate member

Leaseurope has announced that Lectura, a German-based provider of machinery intelligence, has joined the organisation as its latest associate member. 

Lectura’s database contains information and data on more than 147,700 heavy machinery models and provides an evaluation of used machines as well as market intelligence through online tools and digital services, Leaseurope said in a press release.

28 January | Deal

Johnson & Johnson pauses vaccine trial

J&J has temporarily paused dosing in all its vaccine candidate clinical trials for Covid-19, including its Phase III ENSEMBLE trial after a study participant reported an unexplained illness.

The ENSEMBLE independent Data Safety Monitoring Board and J&J’s internal clinical and safety physicians are analysing the participant’s illness.

A study pause implies that the study sponsor halted enrolment or dosing, which is a standard component of a clinical trial protocol.

28 January | Deal

Johnson & Johnson pauses vaccine trial

J&J has temporarily paused dosing in all its vaccine candidate clinical trials for Covid-19, including its Phase III ENSEMBLE trial after a study participant reported an unexplained illness.

The ENSEMBLE independent Data Safety Monitoring Board and J&J’s internal clinical and safety physicians are analysing the participant’s illness.

A study pause implies that the study sponsor halted enrolment or dosing, which is a standard component of a clinical trial protocol.

23 June

European lessors see Q1 recovery: Leaseurope Index

European leasing is showing significant signs of recovery, with key performance indicators (KPIs) improving on the back of Covid-19 restrictions easing and vaccination programmes progressing across Europe, according to the results of the Leaseurope Q1 2021 Index.

The Leaseurope Index is a survey that tracks key performance indicators of a sample of 23 European lessors every quarter. 

21 June

Alfa joins Black British Network

Alfa, provider of systems and consultancy services to the global asset finance industry, has joined the Black British Network (BBN), in a bid to form “part of a vocal collective of changemakers, aiming to make racial equity a reality,” the company said in a statement. 

The Black British Network aims to facilitate conversations with the Black community and industry leaders.

17 June 

CSI Leasing launches subsidiary in Japan

US-based CSI Leasing, one of the world's largest independent equipment leasing companies, has expanded its Asia-Pacific operations by opening a subsidiary in Japan. 

The new entity, CSI Leasing Japan K.K., will immediately begin servicing CSI’s existing portfolio of global customers with subsidiaries in Japan and will seek new business with companies headquartered there as well. 

14 June 

Avolon invests in electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft

Aircraft leasing company Avolon announced it is joining other corporates to invest in the electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) market with a $2bn-order for up to 500 eVTOLs from UK-based Vertical Aerospace. 

This agreement will introduce the ultra-short-haul aircraft category to commercial aviation in a move expected to revolutionise air travel with zero emissions aircraft.

4 June

Maples Group unveils Irish asset finance practice in Singapore

The Maples Group has expanded its Irish legal services offering in Asia with the launch of a new Irish asset finance practice in Singapore. 

The new Irish practice will support aviation clients who increasingly require multi-jurisdictional and time zone sensitive legal advice on the ground in Asia. 

3 June

Mitsubishi Logisnext Europe in tie-up with DLL

De Lage Landen (DLL), a global vendor finance company, has entered into a partnership with Mitsubishi Logisnext Europe (MLE), part of Mitsubishi Logisnext (ML), a provider of logistics and materials handling.

The collaboration will adopt the name Logisnext Financial Services.

Mitsubishi Logisnext Europe was created in April 2020.

1 June 

IDS completes acquisition of White Clarke Group

IDS, a provider of secured finance, announced it has completed the acquisition of White Clarke Group, a provider of retail, fleet, wholesale and asset finance software for the automotive and equipment finance markets. 

The combination creates a multi-asset class secured finance technology powerhouse supporting banks, independents, OEM captives, and independents finance firms globally.