Leasing Matters: Reviewing the year so far and a new face at Acquis

Welcome to the 6th edition of ‘Leasing Matters’ where we dive into developments in the asset finance world and beyond.

It’s been another busy summer for the team here at Acquis, with a new addition to the team but before that, we thought it was a good time to take a look at how the year so far has been across the industry with The Acquis Index!

The Acquis Index

In September we released the latest edition of the Acquis Index, revealing that the value of new equipment finance deals in the UK during the first half of 2024 has decreased by 14% compared to 2023.

Lease inceptions across the 6 month period from January to June 2024 have tracked consistently behind the same period in 2022 and 2023. It was June that saw the most significant drop, with a 30% decline in value of new equipment finance deals.

James Rudolf , Chief Commercial Officer at Acquis commented on the Index: “The first half of 2024 has unfortunately not delivered the return to growth in equipment finance we were all hoping for.

“In 2023, the same Index revealed a 4% drop in new originations compared with 2022, but this was still an 18% improvement on the 2021 total value of originations. Despite some fluctuations in the market in 2023, it was hoped that the value of equipment finance deals would remain stable in 2024, but we are now seeing some sectors struggle to grow.”

This is the fourth year that Acquis has published a report looking at the value of new lease origination across a wide range of equipment types for UK industry sectors including restaurants, retail, industrial, office and IT equipment.

Looking at those various sectors, industrial equipment was the only sector performing ahead of both 2022 and 2023, reporting an 8.2% increase on 2023. The sector which has seen the biggest decline during the first half of 2024, is office equipment experiencing a 20% drop in values for new deals compared to the same period in 2023.

James added, “It’s difficult to pinpoint a single cause behind this drop but a continued period of political and economic uncertainty, alongside the threat of recession lingering in major economies continues to create market unease. In the UK, the General Election has undoubtedly caused some businesses to delay or even pause plans for investment, but a change in government will hopefully stabilise confidence in the market. The recent drop in interest rates, alongside the Autumn Budget may also fuel a return to business investment in the latter part of 2024 but this remains to be seen.”

A new face at Acquis

September is a time of new starts and fresh faces and this Autumn we have welcomed Martin Lehnert to Acquis as European Sales Director.

With over 25 years of experience within the insurance and financial services industry, Martin was previously in charge of commercial development and management of global relationships at AXA Insurance.

Martin will be based out of Amsterdam, Acquis’ European Headquarters and from there will lead the team across Europe as they develop new insurance partnerships with leasing companies across the continent.

Along with Sonia Fellah Bineta SOW Luis Targhetta Vigil Escalera and Philippe Lacquehay he has kicked off his time at Acquis by attending the Leaseurope conference in Alicante with the Acquis team:

“I am excited to be joining Acquis to drive forward its European growth strategy. Acquis is uniquely positioned, leveraging the trust and confidence of its insurance partners as a managing general agent as well as serving the business customers of leasing companies to not only provide asset protection but ultimately to provide business continuity and thus providing stability and predictability to the market in an ever-changing and volatile world. I’m excited to be with Acquis at this time of growth and strengthened by NSM Insurance Group.”

Acquis has been providing value-add insurance?solutions to the European asset finance and?equipment leasing industry since 2009. Through?their specialist knowledge and expertise, they build long-term relationships with clients and?deliver sustainable results while?helping manage risk, generate revenue and improve?insurance penetration.

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