All articles by Jo Tacon
Jo Tacon
Non-prime finance: A gap in the market
The non-prime motor finance market, including finance for sub-prime customers, still shows a serious imbalance between supply and demand which is good news for the funders still in this space, finds Jo Tacon Around this time a year ago, this magazine looked at the state of subprime and non-prime motor finance, and found that significant amounts of funding capacity had vanished over the course of last year, with one broker estimating the subprime market lost four-fifths of its supply of finance over the course of 2008 Now, 12 months on, the gap between supply and demand is wider than ever, with the withdrawal of Welcome Financial Services having exacerbated the issue of a lack of supply
Lombart Vehicle Management: Motorway contractor switches to leasing
Lombard Vehicle Management (LVM) is to supply road signage contractor ERH Communications with a 150-strong fleet of vans and cars in a three-year deal, the lessor announced.
Jobs to be cut at Lex Autolease
The fleet management and leasing company, formed as a result of the integration of HBOS and Lloyds TSB’s fleet units Lex and Lloyds TSB Autolease, will reportedly close its Chester branch, but will retain its offices in Amersham, Birmingham, Bury, Cheadle and Stirling.
Motor finance roundtable: At a turning point?
Providers of motor finance to retail customers find themselves in an almost unprecedented market position, with direct lenders having almost entirely exited the arena and dealers less able to play off one funder against another. Significant challenges not least in the area of liquidity, and the dramatic fall in car sales face the industry
Editor’s Letter: American legends still in turmoil
In Europe, the confusion over the fate of Opel and Vauxhall continues
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LeasePlan reports strong profit for H1 2009
International fleet management and leasing company LeasePlan has announced that its results for the first half of 2009 show that its portfolio size remained stable over the period, while continuing operations delivered a solid net profit of 61 million (£55.3 million).The lessors portfolio of leases stood at 14.1 billion as of June 2009, compared with 14.2 billion at the end of December 2008. Compared with the same period in 2008, however, its first-half 2009 net profit of 61 million represents a significant fall against the first half of 2008s equivalent figure of 112 million.
Benchmark Distribution: Component supplier takes 50 Citroën vans
Automotive component supplier Benchmark Distribution has taken 50 Citron Nemo 1.4HDiX vans on three-year, 90,000 mile contract hire agreements, arranged with LVM.
Alphabet: Skandia UK goes for contract purchase
Financial services company Skandia UKs multi-badge, user-chooser fleet of 200 cars will in future be supplied by Alphabet Recent tax reforms prompted Skandia to change acquisition method, from outright purchase to contract purchase, following a review of its fleet strategy, Alphabet said.
Arval: Fuel card win
Furniture Village has signed a deal with Arval to use a combination of the lessors standard and Diesel Direct fuel cards
Solving the cashflow conundrum
Jo Tacon talks to Chris Talman of Mazda, who is helping dealers to reduce their funding woes.