Major operating lease specialist offers options in waste sector

Operating lease specialist to the waste and environmental sector, GE Capital - Key Lease, is based at Manchester which is the headquarters for Europe. The group has offices in France, Germany, the Nordic and Benelux countries, from where it is expanding its pan-European operations. Recently it launched a presence in Hungary. The company outlines its services for the British market.


With increasing pressure to meet the budgets and maintain efficiency within the waste and environmental sector, local government investors and corporate waste management companies are looking to an operating lease as an important financing alternative.

GE Capital – Key Lease has been successfully providing structured operating lease solutions to this sector for many years. In the last ten years alone it has successfully developed innovative leasing concepts for over 250 local government bodies and in the last 18 months for 19 waste management companies – tailoring every operating lease to meet the diverse and specialist needs of these customers.

The company uses its experience and knowledge of the waste and environmental sector and related assets to structure flexible agreements to fund new acquisitions, refurbishments or sale and operating leaseback.

Risks minimised

Operating lease offers the customer the opportunity to free up valuable capital expenditure. Each lease secured has fixed repayment terms, ensuring greater budgetary control for customers. In addition, the risks associated with investment of new assets and over-ageing of existing assets are also minimised, since the lock-in period of leased items tends to be shorter than for bought items. This is particularly interesting to operators of specialist commercial vehicles as items subject to full cost amortisation tend to be utilised way beyond the optimum service life.

A critical factor which has played a significant role in local government investors and waste management companies choosing to opt for GE Capital – Key Lease’s operating lease solution is the understanding of specialist vehicle fleets.

GE Capital – Key Lease cites customers which make use of its knowledge of the business. Wigan, for example, recently secured funding with the group for a wide range of new waste management assets as part of the local authority’s continuing investment programme to maintain the quality of its specialist fleet.

In Bristol, MHS Highway Hire secured funding to acquire a number of RCVs, which comprise Jack Allen Swinglink bodies on Dennis chassis.

The deal enabled MHS to fulfil a newly-won contract with Northampton Borough Council. According to MHS: “GE Capital – Key Lease provided us with a flexible, tailor-made solution.”

Phil Graysmark, UK Sales Manager at GE Capital – Key Lease, said: “Operating lease concepts allow the repayment period and rate to be adapted flexibly to the individual needs of the lessee, who acquires the full right to use the leased item for the defined duration of the contract.

“Importantly, there are a number of options available to the customer at the end of the contract, ranging from extending on either a short or long term basis through to returning the vehicle. This flexibility is critical to enabling the customer to meet the constantly changing demands from the market place.”


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