LEASINGWORLD AWARDS

Winners of the LeasingWorld

BANK OWNED LESSOR OF 2011

SME CHAMPION OF 2011

BROKER CHAMPION OF 2011

HSBC Equipment Finance (UK)

Close Asset Finance

ING Lease (UK)

Lord Mitchell with Richard Carter “Being part of a large bank has rarely been so challenging. Not only do the nominees in this category have to maximise their external business opportunity but they also have to deal with the highly charged and challenging conditions presented by their stakeholders. To succeed requires real leadership and determination . . .” Runners-up: ING Lease (UK) Santander Business Finance

Lord Mitchell with Roger Stone “Without any doubt the SME world is the life blood of UK PLC. Many words are spoken in support but the lessors in this category have demonstrated that they know how to put the words into action and support one of the most vital sectors in the UK thus being at the centre of helping this Country build back the growth that is so needed . . .” Runners-up: Investec Asset Finance Aldermore Asset Finance

Lord Mitchell with Chris Stamper “It has been all too easy in the current climate to abandon long held relationships, but the lessors in this category have shown the strength of their convictions and stayed supporting the broker community through the most difficult of times. To show that degree of commitment to an extremely important market is a real sign of a well thought through strategy . . .” Runners-up: Close Business Finance Liberty Leasing

INDEPENDENT LESSOR OF 2011 Aldermore Asset Finance Lord Mitchell with George Ashworth “Whilst it is challenging to have a large bank as one’s stakeholder, the life of the Independent is equally fraught, the challenge of sourcing funds, developing critical mass and attracting the right type of business put a huge onus on the businesses to get it right – every time. Current markets are less than forgiving for the independent lessor . . .” Runners-up: Arkle Finance, Liberty Leasing

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SPECIALIST LESSOR OF 2011 Surrey Asset Finance

SPECIALIST LESSOR COMMENDATION

(Print division of Close Asset Finance)

Fineline Media Finance

Lord Mitchell with Basil Bannayi “The essence of leasing is knowing your assets, and in this category more than any other we acknowledge that skill and dedication to highly targeted sectors. To understand a sector and asset range in as much detail as these nominees do requires an enormous effort and a real dedication to a sector through bad times as well as good, a real badge of honour in our industry . . .”

Lord Mitchell with Gareth Wilding “But, there was another, eye-catching, contender in the Specialist Lessor category, who also impressed with its commitment to providing specialist leasing capacity into markets with a large SME population, and the judges decided to award a special Commendation to this company in recognition of its efforts . . .”

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LEASINGWORLD AWARDS

Annual Awards 2011

VENDOR FINANCE PROVIDER OF 2011 Syscap Ltd Lord Mitchell with Philip White “The leasing industry is at the forefront of helping business to sell and acquire the means of production - a vital role in our economy at any time and even more so in the current times. The nominees for this category oil the wheels of the economy through their efforts in helping business sell capital equipment more effectively, and also acquire equipment efficiently. The vendor sector is one of those parts of our industry that truly defines what we are about . . .” Runners-up: CIT UK Aldermore Vendor Finance

CAR LESSOR OF 2011 Hitachi Capital Vehicle Solutions Lord Mitchell with Marie Dunkley “The ability to rise to the top of this market offers enormous logistical challenge as well as the need for a steady nerve as residual values reflect the state of the wider economy. At the same time, to provide the service standards that the client base demands and to do so reliably and to take initiatives on areas such as “green motoring” offers a great business opportunity for those able to take advantage of the market changes and developments . . .” Runners-up: GE Capital Fleet Services Lombard Vehicle Management

LIFETIME CONTRIBUTION TO LEASING

Lord Mitchell with John Brown

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COMMERCIAL VEHICLE LESSOR OF 2011 MAN Financial Services Elliot Lennick “Lessors have always professed a love of things with wheels, but the nominees in this category have shown a true passion for the subject. The world of commercial vehicles has always been a barometer of the state of the economy, and so to remain focussed and perform well here over the recent past is a particularly challenging task and makes the award nominees all the more praiseworthy . . .” Runners-up: Close Asset Finance Scania Finance

JOHN S. BROWN

“John spent his whole life working for North West Securities and IBOS (Industrial Bank of Scotland). He started as a sales rep at NWS, rising to regional director for the Midlands, then started up IBOS Finance. IBOS Finance was the big ticket leasing division of NWS, and grew to be one of the main profit centres of the bank. John was involved in some major leases including Meadowhall Shopping Centre, Sunderland Football Stadium of Light. Monarch Airlines, Sealink Ferries, to name a few. He has, of course, always been heavily involved with the (then named) Equipment Leasing Association, but never accepted the Chairman position. He is a diehard Aston Villa fan, and Doug Ellis the club Chairman attended John’s retirement party at Madame Tussauds, which it is hard to believe was almost 18 years ago. His colleagues surprised him with a This is your Life event, with the compere on the night being Angela Rippon. A propos Villa, he once asked Doug Ellis, at a Villa board meeting, was there anything he could do to help the Villa, to which Ellis replied, “The back fence needs painting.” After he retired, in 1993, he became a non-executive director at Five Arrows Finance (1996 – 2006), a subsidiary of N M Rothschild & Sons Ltd. He has also held other non-exec appointments including MBA International, the recruitment company, and Syscap Ltd. He continues to be heavily involved with Tamworth Conservative Society, as a fund raiser and lobbyist, and can claim to have met most Conservative leaders over the years, right to the present day.

OCTOBER 2011

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LEASINGWORLD AWARDS

Awards Dinner raises £2035 for Centrepoint charity

Cheque for £2035 safely delivered to Centrepoint n our view business and philanthropy go hand in hand, especially in these difficult times, and guests at the Awards Dinner donated the handsome sum of £2035 towards the Centerpoint charity, which is dedicated to giving homeless young people the chance of a future, and the young are particularly hard hit in the current recession. But to raise this sum required some energetic fundraising, for which we have to thank John Brown, and his two blonde assistants, Sian Halliday and Helena Budarkiewicz, for their tremendous effort in selling a thousand pounds worth of raffle tickets in the short space of the drinks reception, and before the meal was served. As we all know, to sell that many raffle tickets you need good prizes, and Leaseurope had donated a ticket to their Annual Convention in Vienna, the Finance and Leasing Association had donated a pair of tickets to their seasonal drinks reception, CBC Recruitment Solutions donated £150 of wine vouchers, John Brown came up with a brace of Aston Villa own-label wines, the venue (The Royal Horseguards Hotel) had donated a romantic Champagne Tea for Two, and there was a Fortnum and Mason hamper to be had. The other £1035 came from Johnnie Halliday’s brilliant orchestrating of a game of Heads and Tails, our thanks to Field Solutions for donating the magnum of Moet which helped to get guests to their feet, throw their donation into the pot, and put their hands either on their heads or on their “tails.” Johnnie then repeatedly flipped the coin, and those who didn’t match the call were out, and had to sit down. Computer people will know that if you keep calling on a 50/50 bet, you will go from hundreds to just a handful in half a dozen or so coin flips (they call it the Binary Chop). A fun game, and a great result for charity. n

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OCTOBER 2011

Johnnie Halliday presents the magnum of Moet

All winners!

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LEASINGWORLD AWARDS

Miles Clarke, CBC Recruitment Solutions, who also donated a raffle prize of £150 of wine, snaps the team

Syscap wins award AND raffle prize

A jubilant Close team

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OCTOBER 2011

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LEASINGWORLD AWARDS

Standing ovation for John Brown receiving the Leasing World Lifetime Contribution to Leasing Award

Chris Boobyer

Lindsay Town

George Lynn

John Bennett

THE JUDGING PANEL A panel of judges to decide an industry award must be assembled with care. The result must be seen to be fair and unsullied by perceived personal connections or favouritism. It goes without saying that the judges must be expert and experienced, and up to speed with the latest developments in their industry, but as importantly, the panel must be balanced so that each judge can have their view taken into account, and no one personality can hold sway.

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We feel we got it right with our judging panel for Leasing World’s Awards, whose deliberations were searching, but fair, and our thanks go once again to Chris Boobyer (Invigors EMEAA), Lindsay Town (Kent Asset Solutions), George Lynn (Angel Trains), and John Bennett (Hitachi Capital – abstained from the judging of the Car Lessor award in order to avoid a conflict of interest).

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