Welcome to the January issue of Motor Finance. The past year
was, to put it mildly, full of surprises. Now – after the official
merger of Lloyds and HBOS – the UK economy, and motor finance in
particular, is entering uncharted waters in 2009.
It is clear that companies in all areas of motor finance, from
fleet operators to consumer finance providers, need to look
carefully at their business models and to think of new avenues they
can explore. For fleets, a marketing campaign based around the
benefits of sale-and-leaseback schemes could well pay off, as this
form of finance appears to be increasing in popularity as cash
becomes scarcer (Sale-and-leaseback comes to the
fore).
Meanwhile, with the exit of many major players from the
sub-prime motor finance arena, there is more demand than supply;
David Raistrick of Deloitte argues that a financier which took
pains to balance the risk and reward of operating in this area
could reap substantial benefits (see Time to dip a toe?).
Wishing all readers a happy and prosperous start to the
year.
