Grenke Group, a provider of financing for small and medium-sized enterprises, generated new leasing business of €1,657.8m during the 2021 financial year, which was marked by the Covid-19 pandemic and global supply bottlenecks in the second half-year.

This figure represents 81.7% of the previous year’s level (FY 2020: €2,027.9m) and is at the upper end of the €1.5 to €1.7bn forecast for new business adjusted in November.

In the fourth quarter of 2021, new leasing business was €521.2m, or 22.1% higher than in the same quarter last year. New leasing business corresponds to the total acquisition costs of all newly purchased leased assets.

An increase in new leasing business was achieved in all regions in the fourth quarter compared to the same quarter of the prior year. The region Western Europe without DACH achieved the strongest growth with 44.5%, followed by Northern/Eastern Europe with an increase of 35.6%, and Southern Europe with a rise of 18.9%.

Grenke Group Factoring’s new business recorded a purchased receivables volume of €191.8m in the fourth quarter, amounting to a year-on-year increase of 6.5% (Q4 2020: €180m). New factoring business for the full year of 2021 amounted to €700.9m, representing a year-on-year increase of 8.2% (2020: €647.8m).

Hickman Shearer, a capital asset valuation, management and used equipment sales company and CA Global Partners, a provider of asset management, have jointly announced they will conduct a live and online auction of a selection of over 3,000 pieces of outside broadcast and TV production equipment on behalf of Kroll LLP, the administrators of Arena Television Limited (in Administration).

Following a failure to sell Arena as an ongoing concern, Kroll has commissioned Hickman Shearer and CA Global Partners to oversee the auction of these assets which will be sold by negotiated sale and an online and onsite auction over three days, beginning on 22 February 2022. Visit arenatvsale.com.

In November 2021, British broadcaster Arena Television collapsed into administration after its now-former directors closed the business ‘abruptly’ and ‘absconded’.

In its report to creditors, Kroll also found evidence of ‘materially significant liabilities’ a ‘shortfall of assets’ and ‘misinformation apparently provided by the directors to certain creditors’.

Kroll is pursuing the directors in the courts for a breach of fiduciary duty.

A week before the directors suddenly closed the business on 10 November, Hickman Shearer working on behalf of Arena’s creditors, reported significant irregularities while undertaking an asset verification and valuation at Arena.

Challenger bank Allica has been accredited for the Recovery Loan Scheme (RLS), becoming the first bank outside of the original CBILS lenders to be approved for the Scheme.

The Scheme supports access to finance for UK businesses as they recover and grow coming out of the pandemic. Funds can be used for any legitimate business purpose, including managing cashflow, growth and investment. It is designed to appeal to businesses that can afford to take out additional finance for these purposes. It has provided vital support to many, giving them the resources to adapt to the opportunities the pandemic has presented, such as diversifying their product offering or adapting their logistics strategy.

Originally due to end in December of this year, the Scheme was recently extended to June 2022, providing a boost to the UK’s SME contingent in a time of crucial economic recovery. The Scheme’s end date of 31 December will still apply for enterprise customers.

Allica said it will begin by offering asset finance and move to commercial property finance next year. Allica Bank received full banking authorisation from the Prudential Regulatory Authority (PRA) in September 2019 and focuses on what it calls the underserved established SME market.

DF Capital has launched a new apprenticeship scheme, offering school leavers the opportunity to secure experience in a real-life business environment.

Organisers of the 18-month scheme are inviting applications for several roles across DF Capital’s sales and operations teams. These positions will provide the chance to gain skills and work towards a Business Admin Level 3 qualification and a permanent job.

The asset finance division of United Trust Bank (UTB) grew originations by 136% in 2021 to become UTB’s fastest-growing division by business volume and headcount. The performance helped to push UTB’s asset finance loan book beyond £200m for the first time in UTB’s history. 14 people joined UTB’s asset finance team last year across sales, operations and credit with no fewer than four underwriters having joined UTB’s asset finance credit team since the start of 2021.

The agricultural division of Haydock Finance has launched a product for the UK dairy sector. Dairy Cattle Finance “includes refinancing and has been designed to support British farmers with their cattle purchasing and cash flow requirements,” the provider said during an Agri Finance webinar unveiling to its broker partners.