All articles by MF Editorial
MF Editorial
Captive’s Q1 profits hit by credit crunch
Thus while the total business volume on the captives balance sheet jumped year on year by 10.4 per cent to 50.5bn (£39.8bn), the total number of lease and finance contracts with dealers and customers grew by 15.6 per cent to 2,701,860, and the segments Q1 2008 revenues grew by 25.1 per cent compared with Q1 2007 to 3.9bn (£3bn), the pre-tax profit fell by 54.1 per cent 84m (£66m).
Crunch time for car dealers
Indeed, it is more likely to be decisions like the scenario above rather than bankruptcies that will drive down the number of car dealerships in the UK, says the latest Ernst & Young (E&Y) report on the auto retailing business, released last month.
Dealer turns in lower profit in absence of VAT boost
Pre-tax profits at veteran car dealer Arnold Clark fell by 8.2 per cent last year, from £76.4m to £70.1m, the company announced March 21 The company, owned by eponymous found Sir Arnold Clark, noted that profit in the previous year had been inflated by an exceptional VAT pay-out of £12.4m. Exceptional items in 2007 included sales of properties in Liverpool, Paisley and Glasgow, which in which brought total gains of £3.9m.
GE Fleet issues Corporate Manslaughter Act guide for drivers
Corporate fleet management and leasing company GE Capital Solutions, Fleet Services has issued a guide for business drivers in anticipation of the introduction of the Corporate Manslaughter Act, on April 6.
Northgate’s ‘sale-and-rentback’ product to beat credit squeeze
Northgate Vehicle Hire has launched a sale-and-rentback product for fleets, which it said will be of particular use in the midst of an economic slowdown.
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Ford Credit to have ‘transitional’ role following Jaguar Land Rover sale
Manufacturer Ford has sold two of its premium brands, Jaguar and Land Rover, to Indian conglomerate Tata in a deal worth $2.3bn (£1.1bn). Ford said in a statement that its finance arm Ford Motor Credit would continue to provide financing for Jaguar and Land Rover dealers and customers for a transitional period of “up to 12 months”.
First UK securitisation issuance for Volkswagen
Volkswagen is to issue its first UK securitisation, in the form of asset-backed floating rate notes to the value of £460m. Driver UK One Ltd, a limited liability company based in Jersey, will issue the notes, along with £40m-worth of unrated notes.
Darling’s ‘green’ Budget disappoints
Fuel duty increase postponed until October 2008 There is to be a radical re-structuring of vehicle excise duty from 2009. Bands to be increased from seven to 13, based on carbon emissions The standard rate to decrease for cars emitting 150g of CO2km or less, and will be increased to £425 for the most polluting cars Cars emitting below 130gkm will be charged the zero rate during the first year, while the most polluting cars will pay a first year sales tax of £950 From 2009 there will be a new regime for business cars – with cars emitting above 160gkm given 10 per cent writing down allowance, and 20 per cent for those emitting below 160gkm. Leased cars for the disabled will get 20 per cent regardless of their emissions No amendments to Approved Mileage Allowance Payments (AMAPs)
Straight from the horses’ mouths
Straight from the horses mouths Motor Finance asked a number of vehicle finance brokers for their views on the current market; this is what they said The brokerages we surveyed ranged in size from three employees to over 130; the majority placed business both for fleet and individual customers Of those that worked in areas other than vehicle finance, equipment finance was the most popular (25 per cent), although commercial mortgages, investments, pensions, marine and aviation finance were all mentioned as other avenues explored.
Hunter being hunted?
Stock-watchers have noticed that the same buyer moves in to buy shares in the beleaguered car retail group, which issued two profit warnings in recent months, whenever the shares fall A potential bidder could be attracted by Pendragons property portfolio, although following a £400m sale-and-leaseback of its land assets last year, it is unclear how much value any corporate predator could extract from Pendragons remaining land book