In brief

Grenke AG, a German-based SME leasing company, generated a net profit of €79.9m in the financial year 2020 (against €135.9m in 2019), which represents a 41% decline, according to preliminary figures reported by Grenke. 

The results meet the Company’s forecast of a net profit “in the upper double-digit-million range” last published on 26 February 2021, the company said in a statement. 

Earnings per share correspond to €1.67 (2019: €2.95). The 2020 Annual Report, including the audit opinion, is scheduled to be published on 21 May 2021.

DF Capital, a UK specialist commercial lender and provider of working capital funding, said it has started 2021 "in an enviable position" with "no pandemic related legacy" after a challenging 2020.

The business, which received full authorisation as a bank in September 2020, posted its financial results for full-year 2020.

Carl D’Ammassa, chief executive, DF Capital, said: “The impact of the global pandemic made 2020 a challenging year for the Group."

"We have no pandemic related legacy and have protected our lending franchise throughout the year," D’Ammassa said.

Independent business lender White Oak has announced record monthly lending figures in March, with £70m lending provided to 724 SMEs across the country, including £58m provided from its own book.

March 31 was White Oak’s highest day of lending ever with £9m lent from its own book.

The record month capped off a strong Q1 for White Oak as it passed £161m total lending to businesses, including £130m from its own book.

Fitch Ratings has revised the outlooks on three European equipment rental companies to ‘stable’ from ‘negative’ as economies rebound.

UK-based Ashtead Group plc is rated ‘BBB-‘/Stable, Netherlands-based Boels Topholding BV ‘BB-‘/Stable and Luxembourg-based Modulaire Investments 2 S.a.r.l. ‘B’/Stable.

These companies experienced better-than-expected performance after the first wave of lockdowns in Q2 2020.

Financial performance, particularly leverage, is expected to remain broadly stable in 2021, in light of improving equipment demand and limited impairment charges, particularly in construction and the public sector.

Cubitt Trade Holdings, the parent of Pulse Cashflow Finance, which recently acquired Calverton Finance (and Calverton Business Support), is to change the Calverton Finance name to Pulse Cashflow, in a move designed to “align” the two UK-based cashflow finance businesses, Pulse Cashflow said in a statement.

Pulse Cashflow said the move “will complement our offering as we join together … As part of the move, Calverton Finance will be changing its name to Pulse Cashflow Finance (MK).

International SME funder, Bibby Financial Services (BFS), has announced a £300m Pandemic Recovery Fund to support SMEs as lockdown restrictions are lifted in the UK over the coming months.

Available through BFS’s invoice finance products including factoring, invoice discounting, construction finance, trade and export finance variants, the fund can be accessed by new and existing SME clients that trade with other businesses.

Manchester-based asset finance broker PMD Business Finance has partnered with Leasepath, a Canada-based IT services in-the-cloud provider, to use its finance origination and customer engagement platform.

PMD, which brokers over £150m of lending a year, said it will use Leasepath’s Intelligent Workplace to improve client relationships through better operational performance and streamlined deal flows with funders.

In a statement, Leasepath described its platform as designed to improve sales-to-order workflow, document generation, dealer/vendor portals, and other automation capabilities and to relieve team members of oft-repeated workload.

eCapital Corp, a US-based provider of cashflow funding for SMEs in North America and the UK, has announced substantial growth in 2020 and consolidated a total of eight acquired companies into a simplified corporate structure.

Citing its 2020 financial statement, eCapital said it provided customers access to over $4bn in financing across 80 industries in the US and Canada during 2020, and achieved a 66.5% year-on-year increase in gross revenues and a 56% YoY increase in portfolio size.

eCapital said it owed its exponential operational growth in 2020, in part, to its aggressive acquisition strategy.

Grenke AG, a provider of leasing services to small and medium-sized enterprises across Europe, generated new leasing business of €365.8m in Q1 2021, equalling 53.7% of the level in Q1 2020 (€681.3m).

The new business development in Q1 2021 is a consequence of the weaker economy resulting from the corona pandemic as well as the result of the company’s focus on small-ticket contracts, which generate higher contribution margins. The higher number of contracts also leads to broader risk diversification.

Ritchie Bros has joined Leaseurope, the trade body representing the leasing and automotive rental industry in Europe, as its latest associate member.

Ritchie Bros is a global asset management and disposition company established in 1958 and is listed on the NYSE and the Toronto stock exchange (TSX) with its European headquarters in Breda, the Netherlands.

More than $5.4bn (€4.5bn) worth of heavy equipment is transacted through the company’s auctions and marketplaces yearly, the company said.