Just as winter starts, the crunch turns to a freeze, how appropiate. Hear is the news that many people are unaware of, M4 Money ( Private Sector Money) fell to 3.5% year on year in October compared to an average of 9% over the last three years. This is the latest data from the Bank of England.
So what does this mean to you and me? It is very simple, we are now in the grip of a credit freeze. A credit freeze is where the banks or lending institutions show a great reluctance to either renew a credit line or overdraft or reduce the amounts and terms in which they are prepared to offer to you or to your customers. With the banks controlling about 90% of the small business lending market, either through overdrafts, loans or leasing; when they revert to type and cut back as they always do in a recession, it effects all the small business's in a disproportionate way.
Cash flow begins to take a new priority. As more and more of your customers take longer and longer to pay, you are in effect funding their cash flow, and damaging your own. Their is a solution to both parts of the credit freeze. With banks in their current frame of mind of retrenchment, they appear very reluctant to offer new loans or increase overdrafts. This is effecting any equipment reseller.
However if the reseller used equipment leasing, it gives the customer a new credit line and helps in closing the sale. The other main benefit of leasing in a credit freeze is that you will get paid normally by BACS or TT within 24 hours, so the money is in your bank, and not in someone elses, assisting your cash flow.
So the ball is firmly in your court, to help overcome the credit freeze, use leasing, preferable Oak Leasing !
http://www.oaklease.co.uk/ The UK's most popular leasing company website.
Tuesday, 2 December 2008
Friday, 31 October 2008
And now for some common sense.
The media is discovering that credit crunch news is making people either change channels on the TV or turn off the news. Saturation point has been reached, but they still try to ram it down our throats.
By simply going over the news with slight variations does not mean that it is news. We are all aware of what has occured, and who is to blame. End of story. Move on.
We cannot dwell on what has happened, we have to look to the future. Doom and gloom is no good for any business. If we think that the end is nigh, it surely is, but I think it is high time to be positive and seize the opportunities that are out there.
Historically the strong would overcome the weak, but this time it will be different. Companies who seize the growing opportunities will succeed. It is the quick that will overcome the slow.
We all know that the banks have tightened up their lending policies.We all know that they are reducing overdraft limits, and this is hitting SME's and medium business's very hard and they try to survive. By using leasing, it overcomes using valuable working capital or part of an overdraft to acquire needed capital equipment. Remember standing still is just an illusion, you are going backwards. For any equipment suppliers, you have to use leasing to help sell your equipment and also help your customers survive. Use and promote leasing on your website, it is not an option, it is a necessity.
Getting down to brass tacks, many leasing companies have closed off their leasing books, and have either stopped offering leasing, or have changed their underwriting criteria beyond recognition.
We have the money, you have the customers, lets talk, and get some leasing proposals underwritten and paid out. The quick will survive, the slow will not, perhaps that is what will eventually come of this period on uncertainty.
Oak Leasing Ltd. The UK's most popular leasing company website.
By simply going over the news with slight variations does not mean that it is news. We are all aware of what has occured, and who is to blame. End of story. Move on.
We cannot dwell on what has happened, we have to look to the future. Doom and gloom is no good for any business. If we think that the end is nigh, it surely is, but I think it is high time to be positive and seize the opportunities that are out there.
Historically the strong would overcome the weak, but this time it will be different. Companies who seize the growing opportunities will succeed. It is the quick that will overcome the slow.
We all know that the banks have tightened up their lending policies.We all know that they are reducing overdraft limits, and this is hitting SME's and medium business's very hard and they try to survive. By using leasing, it overcomes using valuable working capital or part of an overdraft to acquire needed capital equipment. Remember standing still is just an illusion, you are going backwards. For any equipment suppliers, you have to use leasing to help sell your equipment and also help your customers survive. Use and promote leasing on your website, it is not an option, it is a necessity.
Getting down to brass tacks, many leasing companies have closed off their leasing books, and have either stopped offering leasing, or have changed their underwriting criteria beyond recognition.
We have the money, you have the customers, lets talk, and get some leasing proposals underwritten and paid out. The quick will survive, the slow will not, perhaps that is what will eventually come of this period on uncertainty.
Oak Leasing Ltd. The UK's most popular leasing company website.
Friday, 10 October 2008
Stormy financial weather ahead.
The British are well known that we talk about the weather. Here is today's forecast. There is a very cold wind blowing across Iceland, with a deepening Atlantic depression moving in an easterly direction.
Any firm that uses equipment leasing as a sales aid to sell capital equipment is being hit by three factors.
Firstly that we are in a recession, and that margins are being cut to the bone, and that customers are postponing any buying decision to a later date. With the stock market plunging again this morning, you cannot blame them for that, confidence has been, and is being shot to pieces.
Secondly, funders are being hit by rising bad debt, and are therefore using tougher underwriting guidelines, and thirdly, many leasing companies have simply left the market place, leaving a huge funding gap for leasing.
And now coming back to the weather forcast,the phrase R&D has changed its meaning,from research and development to recession and not depression. Wednesdays move by the government has meant in real terms that we will go into a recession, and not a depression. That is very good news.
The key is that in a recession, it is crucial not to let any sales opportunity slip through your fingers. Leasing only works as a sales aid if the supplier is receiving full support from its leasing partner, and it becoming apparent to us that many funders are simply cherry picking the deals. This is not sales aid leasing. We at Oak, have sources of funding that will give you the opportunity of acceptances that other leasing companies will simply reject. You cannot risk losing any sales in this present climate.
I hope that when I next write, the tone will be more uplifting, all I can say is make every sale count, and if you are not receiving a good acceptance rate from your leasing company, it would be wise to look for a new leasing partner.
http://www.oaklease.co.uk/ The UK's most popular leasing company website.
Any firm that uses equipment leasing as a sales aid to sell capital equipment is being hit by three factors.
Firstly that we are in a recession, and that margins are being cut to the bone, and that customers are postponing any buying decision to a later date. With the stock market plunging again this morning, you cannot blame them for that, confidence has been, and is being shot to pieces.
Secondly, funders are being hit by rising bad debt, and are therefore using tougher underwriting guidelines, and thirdly, many leasing companies have simply left the market place, leaving a huge funding gap for leasing.
And now coming back to the weather forcast,the phrase R&D has changed its meaning,from research and development to recession and not depression. Wednesdays move by the government has meant in real terms that we will go into a recession, and not a depression. That is very good news.
The key is that in a recession, it is crucial not to let any sales opportunity slip through your fingers. Leasing only works as a sales aid if the supplier is receiving full support from its leasing partner, and it becoming apparent to us that many funders are simply cherry picking the deals. This is not sales aid leasing. We at Oak, have sources of funding that will give you the opportunity of acceptances that other leasing companies will simply reject. You cannot risk losing any sales in this present climate.
I hope that when I next write, the tone will be more uplifting, all I can say is make every sale count, and if you are not receiving a good acceptance rate from your leasing company, it would be wise to look for a new leasing partner.
http://www.oaklease.co.uk/ The UK's most popular leasing company website.
Tuesday, 30 September 2008
Woe Woe & Thrice Woe ?
What a mess the financial world is in. But the journalists are missing the main point. They are all hammering on about the credit crunch, that is very much yesterdays news, the real problem is the confidence crunch.
Banking and finance works on confidence, firstly that the actual system is strong, and that the players or banks are also strong. The acute problem is that at the present, the banks do not have any confidence in each other. Can you blame them when the board will issue a statement saying they are financially sound, ( that in itself should be like an alarm bell) and 3- 4 days later, the same bank is being bailed out by their central bank or sold on to a competitor. It is not as if it is one or two banks that are suffering from this, it is becoming rare that somewhere in the global economy a bank has not failed!
The swagger of Wall Street has long gone, and I think it will take many many years before the rest of us will ever listen to what they are saying about their institutions. The undoubted position as number one has gone, and I think for good, or at least some very considerable time.
So what does the future hold, well I think it is out of the hands of the Central Banks now, it is down to something that money cannot buy....confidence. When it returns,the market will gradually recover, and with that so will the economies. In regard to leasing, many lessors have either closed off their books or are underwriting in such a way that only a very small percentage of business is being placed on their books. Business's will always have to acquire new equipment, and as the banks are very reluctant to lend through the traditional channels, leasing will grow, as it always does in a recession. To use the most popular leasing company website in the UK, simply go to www.oaklease.co.uk
Banking and finance works on confidence, firstly that the actual system is strong, and that the players or banks are also strong. The acute problem is that at the present, the banks do not have any confidence in each other. Can you blame them when the board will issue a statement saying they are financially sound, ( that in itself should be like an alarm bell) and 3- 4 days later, the same bank is being bailed out by their central bank or sold on to a competitor. It is not as if it is one or two banks that are suffering from this, it is becoming rare that somewhere in the global economy a bank has not failed!
The swagger of Wall Street has long gone, and I think it will take many many years before the rest of us will ever listen to what they are saying about their institutions. The undoubted position as number one has gone, and I think for good, or at least some very considerable time.
So what does the future hold, well I think it is out of the hands of the Central Banks now, it is down to something that money cannot buy....confidence. When it returns,the market will gradually recover, and with that so will the economies. In regard to leasing, many lessors have either closed off their books or are underwriting in such a way that only a very small percentage of business is being placed on their books. Business's will always have to acquire new equipment, and as the banks are very reluctant to lend through the traditional channels, leasing will grow, as it always does in a recession. To use the most popular leasing company website in the UK, simply go to www.oaklease.co.uk
Monday, 8 September 2008
What is a Name ?
Until the last two to three weeks, Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac to most people in the UK could well have been cartoon characters. It is only now that we realise that they were the largest building societies in the world.
The credit crunch is here to stay for at least for all of next year. The reasons is quite simple, between them, Freddie & Fannie own or guarantee about £2.7 trillion worth of home loans - more than half the outstanding mortgages in the US. Almost every bank in the world has some sort of financial involement with them. So when they sneeze, we catch the flu.
The simple facts are that the UK banks are only lending what the savers are putting on deposit, as securitisation has almost dried up. Savers are under huge pressure,you only save surplus money, and as we all know, fuel is up, food prices are up, gas and electric are all rising, and there is inflation hitting everything else. With little money coming into the banks coffers, it is obvious that little money can be lent out to business. Coupled with banks on the receiving end of increasing bad debts, underwriters are now more cautious than ever.
So how does the future look? The only thing we can all do is work smarter, not harder. The internet is the growth area for all companies, or should be. By utilising a website and including a leasing web page is an easy way to help any business work smarter in the coming year. If you want any help on this simply click here
The credit crunch is here to stay for at least for all of next year. The reasons is quite simple, between them, Freddie & Fannie own or guarantee about £2.7 trillion worth of home loans - more than half the outstanding mortgages in the US. Almost every bank in the world has some sort of financial involement with them. So when they sneeze, we catch the flu.
The simple facts are that the UK banks are only lending what the savers are putting on deposit, as securitisation has almost dried up. Savers are under huge pressure,you only save surplus money, and as we all know, fuel is up, food prices are up, gas and electric are all rising, and there is inflation hitting everything else. With little money coming into the banks coffers, it is obvious that little money can be lent out to business. Coupled with banks on the receiving end of increasing bad debts, underwriters are now more cautious than ever.
So how does the future look? The only thing we can all do is work smarter, not harder. The internet is the growth area for all companies, or should be. By utilising a website and including a leasing web page is an easy way to help any business work smarter in the coming year. If you want any help on this simply click here
Thursday, 12 June 2008
Times are a Changing!
When Bob Dylan wrote that song over 40 years ago, it was aimed at the changing sixties, however it is very apt for the challanging times that we face at the present.
A few months ago, credit crunch could have been a new breakfast cereal for bankers in the city, now it is on the lips of everyone. Its effects have also hit everybody in the UK in some form or another.
Even though the US have been suffering from the effects of the credit crunch for longer than us, with banks and customers alike having horrendous problems, one very interesting fact has emerged. With the US ecomony in a recession, the amount of spending in stores and capital purchases like cars etc very low, one area has grown by 23.9% in the last quarter. The key fact is that this growth has not come from a low base. Internet and web based purchases have risen by this amount. People are now not just surf the web, but are actively chasing the best deals that they can, to make their money go further.
In the UK, we have started with some travel and insurance supermarket sites, but still have a long way to go. In a weeks time, we are launching oakleasedirect. This is in response to being asked by both suppliers and customers alike, for the best leasing deals in the market. This includes new starts and every kind of equipment. You simply type in either the rate you have been quoted, or the rental, and we will do the rest to give you a lower quote, and save you and your company money.
As the song said, times are a changing, and unless companies change and look to ways to save money, they will struggle to survive the coming months.
http://www.oaklease.co.uk/
A few months ago, credit crunch could have been a new breakfast cereal for bankers in the city, now it is on the lips of everyone. Its effects have also hit everybody in the UK in some form or another.
Even though the US have been suffering from the effects of the credit crunch for longer than us, with banks and customers alike having horrendous problems, one very interesting fact has emerged. With the US ecomony in a recession, the amount of spending in stores and capital purchases like cars etc very low, one area has grown by 23.9% in the last quarter. The key fact is that this growth has not come from a low base. Internet and web based purchases have risen by this amount. People are now not just surf the web, but are actively chasing the best deals that they can, to make their money go further.
In the UK, we have started with some travel and insurance supermarket sites, but still have a long way to go. In a weeks time, we are launching oakleasedirect. This is in response to being asked by both suppliers and customers alike, for the best leasing deals in the market. This includes new starts and every kind of equipment. You simply type in either the rate you have been quoted, or the rental, and we will do the rest to give you a lower quote, and save you and your company money.
As the song said, times are a changing, and unless companies change and look to ways to save money, they will struggle to survive the coming months.
http://www.oaklease.co.uk/
Friday, 9 May 2008
The shrinking pie.
Well, all the excitment of the local elections are over, some people are more happy than others !!
The economy is trundling along, inflation is about 4.5%, the government say it is about 2.5%, but they keep moving the goalposts, sorry wrong word, criteria; so much so that they are now playing on another pitch from the rest of us!
There is a great deal of uncertainity in the business world, some say it will get worse, others say it appears to be getting slightly better. The leasing world is in exactly the same boat, some funders moaning about increasing bad debts, whilst others are constantly chasing us on a daily basis for more business, so sales must be slow.
We now arrive at the shrinking pie, whatever market you are in, the pie is definately shrinking, now you have two options, cut back and hide under a stone and wait untill things get better; This will not work as in business, you know if you stand still, you are actually going backwards. The second option is to get a bigger slice of the pie, as some people will hide under a stone, it is your chance to grow as they are supposedly standing still, you can actively poach their customers.
When the economy is tight, you have to remain in close contact with all of your customers, that is why for our suppliers who use Oak Leasing for their funding, we help them by sending e shots out to our suppliers customers, telling them of their new offers or new equipment. We also provide them with expert advice on their website, and how to use our web solutions to attract more customers to them. So far from hiding under a stone, we see this as a huge opportunity for our dealers and suppliers to grow in market share, and have a bigger slice of the pie!!
Now who is for another slice !
www.oaklease.co.uk
The economy is trundling along, inflation is about 4.5%, the government say it is about 2.5%, but they keep moving the goalposts, sorry wrong word, criteria; so much so that they are now playing on another pitch from the rest of us!
There is a great deal of uncertainity in the business world, some say it will get worse, others say it appears to be getting slightly better. The leasing world is in exactly the same boat, some funders moaning about increasing bad debts, whilst others are constantly chasing us on a daily basis for more business, so sales must be slow.
We now arrive at the shrinking pie, whatever market you are in, the pie is definately shrinking, now you have two options, cut back and hide under a stone and wait untill things get better; This will not work as in business, you know if you stand still, you are actually going backwards. The second option is to get a bigger slice of the pie, as some people will hide under a stone, it is your chance to grow as they are supposedly standing still, you can actively poach their customers.
When the economy is tight, you have to remain in close contact with all of your customers, that is why for our suppliers who use Oak Leasing for their funding, we help them by sending e shots out to our suppliers customers, telling them of their new offers or new equipment. We also provide them with expert advice on their website, and how to use our web solutions to attract more customers to them. So far from hiding under a stone, we see this as a huge opportunity for our dealers and suppliers to grow in market share, and have a bigger slice of the pie!!
Now who is for another slice !
www.oaklease.co.uk
Tuesday, 22 April 2008
Credit crunch over? I don't think so
It seems that no matter what the Bank of England does, the market does the opposite. The slight problem with this big hand out to the banks is that it will not be passed on to their customers, i.e you and me.
It is very unlikely that the mortgage rate that we all pay will suddenly drop, far from it. It is also highly unlikely that the banks will joyously tell us that the credit crunch is over, and we can
all go back to where we were, living off debt. The more reasoned response is that the banks will shore up their badly hit balance sheets with these government bonds to repel any takeovers, and they will simply lick their wounds for a couple of years. Very little of the extra £50 billion will actually be passed on to normal customers. The banks have learnt a sharp lesson, they lent on very poor credit decisions, and this will reflect in their underwriting for some time to come.
Only yesterday, a leasing company announced that it was pulling out of financing certain leisure equipment. The reason I would guess is down to problems they have experienced. There will be other leasing companies that will follow this path over the next few months, in fact, a large leasing company has recently changed its underwriting policy greatly on new starts, and the rate on which they will now consider them.
The market is simply re-adjusting to the new market conditions, and will continue to do so for at least the next 6- 9 months. As with any change, you have to adapt quickly to survive, and that is what we all have to do for the rest of the year. I apologise for the slightly gloomy outlook, but reality is something we have to face.
www.oaklease.co.uk
It is very unlikely that the mortgage rate that we all pay will suddenly drop, far from it. It is also highly unlikely that the banks will joyously tell us that the credit crunch is over, and we can
all go back to where we were, living off debt. The more reasoned response is that the banks will shore up their badly hit balance sheets with these government bonds to repel any takeovers, and they will simply lick their wounds for a couple of years. Very little of the extra £50 billion will actually be passed on to normal customers. The banks have learnt a sharp lesson, they lent on very poor credit decisions, and this will reflect in their underwriting for some time to come.
Only yesterday, a leasing company announced that it was pulling out of financing certain leisure equipment. The reason I would guess is down to problems they have experienced. There will be other leasing companies that will follow this path over the next few months, in fact, a large leasing company has recently changed its underwriting policy greatly on new starts, and the rate on which they will now consider them.
The market is simply re-adjusting to the new market conditions, and will continue to do so for at least the next 6- 9 months. As with any change, you have to adapt quickly to survive, and that is what we all have to do for the rest of the year. I apologise for the slightly gloomy outlook, but reality is something we have to face.
www.oaklease.co.uk
Friday, 11 April 2008
Leasing, a silver lining
For the past 3 months, the news is still the same, but another word is creeping in now, inflation to join credit crunch and recession. It is not just the UK that is in the mire, a small German bank has closed its doors , Weserbank shut up shop this week, due to a change its business model.
Business model, thats a good phrase to use, and I expect we will hear a great deal more of that particular phrase as the year progresses. It is when the tide goes out, and it's certainly ebbing quite fast, that you find that business models that looked good when times were OK, are suddenly on sinking sand. Companies that are too relient on banks for overdrafts and loans, and are highly geared, are coming under increasing pressure on two fronts, the increase in the price of credit and the reduction in available credit.
The very fact that on the day that the Bank Of England cuts base rate, some building societies and banks are actually put up theirs. It is no co-incidence that the institutions are repricing their loans. They are under pressure to recoup some of the losses that they have had to swallow, and also what they expect to have in the near future.
We now come to inflation, a word that had almost disapeared over the last 10-12 years. The Bank of Englands target rate of inflation is 2%, but with the increase in fuel, food and energy prices, inflation is back into the system. So as the song says, "its a long and winding road ", but where it will take us, I have no idea ! The only plus is that with leasing, it is a fixed cost through out the period, so it's a built in hedge against inflation; so at least with leasing, there is a silver lining.
http://www.oaklease.co.uk/
Business model, thats a good phrase to use, and I expect we will hear a great deal more of that particular phrase as the year progresses. It is when the tide goes out, and it's certainly ebbing quite fast, that you find that business models that looked good when times were OK, are suddenly on sinking sand. Companies that are too relient on banks for overdrafts and loans, and are highly geared, are coming under increasing pressure on two fronts, the increase in the price of credit and the reduction in available credit.
The very fact that on the day that the Bank Of England cuts base rate, some building societies and banks are actually put up theirs. It is no co-incidence that the institutions are repricing their loans. They are under pressure to recoup some of the losses that they have had to swallow, and also what they expect to have in the near future.
We now come to inflation, a word that had almost disapeared over the last 10-12 years. The Bank of Englands target rate of inflation is 2%, but with the increase in fuel, food and energy prices, inflation is back into the system. So as the song says, "its a long and winding road ", but where it will take us, I have no idea ! The only plus is that with leasing, it is a fixed cost through out the period, so it's a built in hedge against inflation; so at least with leasing, there is a silver lining.
http://www.oaklease.co.uk/
Thursday, 20 March 2008
Is it all doom & gloom?
This has been an eventful week, with a major Wall Street bank being sold for a pittance, rumours spreading about almost every bank that you can think of, inflation rising ,and banks meeting with the Govenor of the Bank of England. But is it as bad as it appears?
In the equipment leasing market, another small funder has closed its doors to new business, with gossip about at least another two. The real facts are simple, credit critea have been tighten, and amount of advances to customers has been reduced. The lessors are simply putting sensible underwriting in place, instead of writing all sorts of borderline deals. The key is that they are now taking positive steps to the future.
We are told that inflation is rising, but this is mainly driven by the increase in fuel and food. If you take these out of the equation, inflation is only 1.2%. Even with fuel and food included, inflation was only 2.5 %, whilst in the Eurozone is has just hit 3.3%. With that in mind, a number of European countries are looking at the UK with envy. Things are always relative.
So, doom and gloom ? no I don't think so, choppy water, yes. Companies will always have to acquire new equipment, and it is times like these is where leasing can and will play a major role in recovery.
www.oaklease.co.uk
In the equipment leasing market, another small funder has closed its doors to new business, with gossip about at least another two. The real facts are simple, credit critea have been tighten, and amount of advances to customers has been reduced. The lessors are simply putting sensible underwriting in place, instead of writing all sorts of borderline deals. The key is that they are now taking positive steps to the future.
We are told that inflation is rising, but this is mainly driven by the increase in fuel and food. If you take these out of the equation, inflation is only 1.2%. Even with fuel and food included, inflation was only 2.5 %, whilst in the Eurozone is has just hit 3.3%. With that in mind, a number of European countries are looking at the UK with envy. Things are always relative.
So, doom and gloom ? no I don't think so, choppy water, yes. Companies will always have to acquire new equipment, and it is times like these is where leasing can and will play a major role in recovery.
www.oaklease.co.uk
Tuesday, 4 March 2008
Credit Crunch Deepens
It is strongly rumoured that two more UK funders are pulling out of the HP & leasing market in the UK. If this occurs , it will encourage others to harded their credit terms even more, which will in turn make the problem even worse.
Hardly good news on this bright morning. This news will simply move the problem along as trade credit will be the way to survive for companies that are having their overdrafts reduced drasticly or even taken away.
Explain I hear you cry, well it is very simple, with restricted credit and rising bank charges and costs, companies will review their payment to suppliers and customers. By getting paid before having to pay the supplier is a well established practice for managing working capital needs, but now this could be the only option left open to many companies. The increase in extended credit terms will have a knock on effect for everybody.
There is nothing new in this, in the past this has led or more likely forced suppliers of equipment to lead with a leasing quote more than ever, as leasing enables the supplier to be paid out normally within 24 hours. So is leasing a remedy for trade credit? I will leave you to answer that for yourself.
Hardly good news on this bright morning. This news will simply move the problem along as trade credit will be the way to survive for companies that are having their overdrafts reduced drasticly or even taken away.
Explain I hear you cry, well it is very simple, with restricted credit and rising bank charges and costs, companies will review their payment to suppliers and customers. By getting paid before having to pay the supplier is a well established practice for managing working capital needs, but now this could be the only option left open to many companies. The increase in extended credit terms will have a knock on effect for everybody.
There is nothing new in this, in the past this has led or more likely forced suppliers of equipment to lead with a leasing quote more than ever, as leasing enables the supplier to be paid out normally within 24 hours. So is leasing a remedy for trade credit? I will leave you to answer that for yourself.
Friday, 15 February 2008
Europe feels the chill, and the "I" word is back.
I have just arrived back from seeing some customers in Europe, and it seems that they are in the same boat as us, i.e. one with a few leaks !!
In the German papers over the week, the German government has been forced to lead in a bail out to a small business bank, IKB, for the sum of €1.5 billion, in a third attempt to avoid insolvency. Other German banks such as West LB have also been hit by the sub prime crisis.
The "I" word is now being mentioned for the first time in ages. Inflation is in the Eurozone, and it seems that according to the Governor of the Bank of England, it is here as well and will rise well over the target of 2%. As inflation rises, I expect a marked slow down in UK growth. A sign of how hard the government think it will be is if they alter the planned tax increase on fuel in a few weeks time. If is stays the same, you know that we are in for a rough ride ahead.
With a tougher market , it is vital to maintain margins as much as possible. By utilising leasing not as a tool of last resort, but as the leading weapon to maintain margins will be crucial to most business in the next few months ahead.
Whatever equipment that you are selling, I think it is vital that you lead not with a cash price, but with a ballpark leasing figure. That is how companies survived and even grew in the last bleak times.
As always, if you need help, just go and visitus at Oak
In the German papers over the week, the German government has been forced to lead in a bail out to a small business bank, IKB, for the sum of €1.5 billion, in a third attempt to avoid insolvency. Other German banks such as West LB have also been hit by the sub prime crisis.
The "I" word is now being mentioned for the first time in ages. Inflation is in the Eurozone, and it seems that according to the Governor of the Bank of England, it is here as well and will rise well over the target of 2%. As inflation rises, I expect a marked slow down in UK growth. A sign of how hard the government think it will be is if they alter the planned tax increase on fuel in a few weeks time. If is stays the same, you know that we are in for a rough ride ahead.
With a tougher market , it is vital to maintain margins as much as possible. By utilising leasing not as a tool of last resort, but as the leading weapon to maintain margins will be crucial to most business in the next few months ahead.
Whatever equipment that you are selling, I think it is vital that you lead not with a cash price, but with a ballpark leasing figure. That is how companies survived and even grew in the last bleak times.
As always, if you need help, just go and visitus at Oak
Monday, 4 February 2008
New Month, New Opportunities
Well we have started a new month, and gloomy January is now behind us, Thank God !
Reading the papers over the weekend, a number of stories took my eye. Firstly there was the story concerning a credit card company, that were cancelling some customers cards, for no better reason than they had a a credit review, and goalposts were now moving. Tough on their now former customers.
It made me remember that a lease agreement, once it has commenced cannot be withdrawn as long as the repayments are continued to be made.
The other story was that last year, over £53 billion was spent over the web by UK consumers. That is a huge amount of money. I think that this year will be critical for business to utilize the web for its full potential. You simply cannot ignore the huge potential that is out there.
Business's who do not show to customers what they can fully offer, are simply not doing themselves justice. You would not dream of not showing all of your products in the best light, so why do suppliers and manufacturers not have a leasing page on their website, to show that is available.
In this present financial climate, customers will simply assume that they cannot offer a lease solution, and go to someone that does. Oak has over 30 suppliers that use our links. If you need help, see our web leasing solutions .
Lets see what this month brings, I think that some of the gloom will move away as it always does in the Spring
Reading the papers over the weekend, a number of stories took my eye. Firstly there was the story concerning a credit card company, that were cancelling some customers cards, for no better reason than they had a a credit review, and goalposts were now moving. Tough on their now former customers.
It made me remember that a lease agreement, once it has commenced cannot be withdrawn as long as the repayments are continued to be made.
The other story was that last year, over £53 billion was spent over the web by UK consumers. That is a huge amount of money. I think that this year will be critical for business to utilize the web for its full potential. You simply cannot ignore the huge potential that is out there.
Business's who do not show to customers what they can fully offer, are simply not doing themselves justice. You would not dream of not showing all of your products in the best light, so why do suppliers and manufacturers not have a leasing page on their website, to show that is available.
In this present financial climate, customers will simply assume that they cannot offer a lease solution, and go to someone that does. Oak has over 30 suppliers that use our links. If you need help, see our web leasing solutions .
Lets see what this month brings, I think that some of the gloom will move away as it always does in the Spring
Thursday, 24 January 2008
Oak Lease Blog hits its target
If you told me on Tuesday, that over 87 people would read our blog in two days, I would have said you must be joking !
Apparently that is true, so I must be doing something right for a change.
You know that something big is on the horizon when the Fed makes only its second large cut in 20 years, and Mervyn King, attending a CBI dinner is live on BBC 24 news. You normally only see a 30 second shot of him when rates are changing.
Speaking to a number of friends within the industry, ( after 30 years in the leasing market I have a few !!) they are of the same opinion that this year suppliers will find it tough, and underwriting will be harder.
But this is far from gloom. Everytime this has occured in the past, 1989-1990, 1979-1980, leasing has always grown. Why you ask? well the answer is very simple, with banks not lending as much, and with higher deposits, and guarantees, and fees etc, customers will gravitate to who ever the supplier recomends when selling the equipment. Whilst I would like you to always use Oak, there are others out in the market place !!
By leading with a rental figure, not only helps you overcome the cost objection, but will overcome bank interference, which always slows a deal down, and you can close the deal quicker.
So in the words of that well known song from Life of Brian,
always look on the bright side of life
Comments will be most welcome, so please feel free to add whatever you like.
Apparently that is true, so I must be doing something right for a change.
You know that something big is on the horizon when the Fed makes only its second large cut in 20 years, and Mervyn King, attending a CBI dinner is live on BBC 24 news. You normally only see a 30 second shot of him when rates are changing.
Speaking to a number of friends within the industry, ( after 30 years in the leasing market I have a few !!) they are of the same opinion that this year suppliers will find it tough, and underwriting will be harder.
But this is far from gloom. Everytime this has occured in the past, 1989-1990, 1979-1980, leasing has always grown. Why you ask? well the answer is very simple, with banks not lending as much, and with higher deposits, and guarantees, and fees etc, customers will gravitate to who ever the supplier recomends when selling the equipment. Whilst I would like you to always use Oak, there are others out in the market place !!
By leading with a rental figure, not only helps you overcome the cost objection, but will overcome bank interference, which always slows a deal down, and you can close the deal quicker.
So in the words of that well known song from Life of Brian,
always look on the bright side of life
Comments will be most welcome, so please feel free to add whatever you like.
Tuesday, 22 January 2008
Well at long last , and after many people asking for an oak lease blog, here it is.
I thought January is always a good time to start something new, but to start on the first is a bit too organised.
I think that many people are now saying the "R" word instead of skirting around it. In the leasing world, it started back in August when a funder suddenly closed it doors to new business.
A year ago, people thought credit crunch was some new and expensive chocolate bar!! Well they are not wrong. The speed in which it has hit business's has alarmed people, but the signs were there over a year ago.
So how does all this affect leasing? , well funders will and have tightened up credit acceptances, and banks are being more careful in their lending. Thats enough info to start with, I will be back with more insights into the leasing world later on in the week
I thought January is always a good time to start something new, but to start on the first is a bit too organised.
I think that many people are now saying the "R" word instead of skirting around it. In the leasing world, it started back in August when a funder suddenly closed it doors to new business.
A year ago, people thought credit crunch was some new and expensive chocolate bar!! Well they are not wrong. The speed in which it has hit business's has alarmed people, but the signs were there over a year ago.
So how does all this affect leasing? , well funders will and have tightened up credit acceptances, and banks are being more careful in their lending. Thats enough info to start with, I will be back with more insights into the leasing world later on in the week
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