All articles by Fred Crawley
Fred Crawley
Editor’s letter: All I want for Christmas…
Over the last few months, employees of the nations car lenders have been working harder than elves in an arctic toy factory to give UK consumers and regulators the magical gift of CCD compliance. Although the CCD story is by no means over (see Funders differ in CCD approach), the implementation of the directive was the last hurdle in a year that saw the motor finance industry bounce back from an altogether forgettable 2009. Bad debt got better, dealer finance penetration rose in the absence of competition from other sources of lending, and the new government managed to avoid alienating the consumer finance sector.
Masterlease deal will see Leasedrive Velo triple fleet
As part of the deal, the operations of the business will be run by up-and-coming fleet manager Leasedrive Velo Group, which as a result will virtually triple its fleet size from 15,200 to more than 40,000. The resulting business will be by some margin the largest privately owned fleet management business in the UK, and will boast customers such as Capgemini, Ericsson and several FTSE 100 businesses.
Duncton gives brokers the green light
Duncton is putting out a clear call for more broker business, as it pursues hefty growth targets in the wake of a “landmark” refinancing deal. The agreement, signed towards the end of November, saw the independent lender take on significant extra lending ability through a funding method that managing director Peter Minter said had not been used before in the sector. The identity of Dunctons new funder is to be revealed in the new year, although it is known to be a “sizeable” non-bank UK investment management company.
Welcome restrictions
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has imposed a requirement on Welcome Financial Services (WFS) not to enforce charging orders or orders of sale on customers homes in cases where debts including vehicle hire purchase outstandings could be settled by less severe means.
UDA problematic for truck business, says Ryder Europe
The growing appetite for banks and other lenders to participate in the contract hire sector via undisclosed agency (UDA) agreements may be a win-win situation when it comes to business car fleets
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Leasedrive and Masterlease to merge
Investec Capital Markets has acquired Masterlease UK, the countrys twelfth largest contract hire company, from Ally Financial Inc
Stead to step down from Lex
Nigel Stead, the man who oversaw the creation of the UKs biggest fleet business, is to step down from his role at the head of Lex Autolease next June He will be succeeded by operations director Rick Francis, who had been commercial director of Lex Vehicle Leasing before the merger of its parent bank HBOS with Lloyds Banking Group (LBG) at the start of 2009.
Captive finance to provide lifeline
Finance provision will be a crucial factor in keeping dealers afloat during what is looking to be an extremely tough quarter for the UK automotive industry, says business restructure and insolvency specialist Begbies Traynor (BT).
CCD vehicle deliveries warning
Lenders and dealers should pay particular attention to the timing of vehicle deliveries after implementation of the new Consumer Credit Directive (CCD), legal firm HBJ Gately Wareing has warned. Senior associate Jo Owens said: “Lenders should consider now whether vehicles or other assets should be delivered to customers before the right to withdraw has expired,” adding the issue may prompt finance providers to “review their trading terms with dealers”. The issue centres around the new Right of Withdrawal which, from 1 February 2011, will entitle consumers to withdraw from agreements relevant to the CCD without reason within 14 days of the date of a credit agreement being signed
Alphera LMS a first for dealer leads
Internet site displays finance contracts nearing full term and settlement requests. Fred Crawley reports. Alphera Financial Services has launched a new system to feed sales opportunities back to dealers and brokers, setting a new precedent for the support of car finance sellers by providers of the product. The Lead Management System (LMS) is plugged into Alpheras partner infonet site. It displays Alphera finance contracts nine months from reaching full term and which are flagged with requests for settlement figures.