Lombard Marine Finance Reports 30% Increase
Southampton, September 2008 – Lombard Marine Finance is preparing for another successful Boat Show this year and during a time when some finance providers are withdrawing from the market, Lombard continues to remain strong in the sector and reports a 30% increase in turnover.
According to Ian Braham, Head of Lombard Marine Finance, 2008 is shaping up to be a good year for business. "There has been some rationalisation of the marine finance market recently, with some banks either withdrawing from the sector or reducing their activities but at Lombard, we continue to invest in the business and turnover year to date is up 30% on the same period in 2007. Although we have noticed sales at the lower end of the market slowing, with the sub £50,000 sector hardest hit, larger transactions are producing far higher volumes of business. This does not mean, however, that we are not keen to assist with lower level advances, as our advances start at £5,000", says Braham.
In particular, Lombard has noticed an increase in applications for financing superyachts. Although Lombard has been funding these vessels for a considerable number of years it has seen a significant increase in the levels of demand over the last few years. Braham adds, "Last year we appointed a specialist team focussing specifically on the rising need for bespoke finance facilities for superyachts and we feel this investment in the business has helped contribute to our overall success so far this year. With both superyachts and other vessels that we finance, the facilities we structure are tailored to meet the exact specifications of the owner – there's no one-size-fits-all solution."
Lombard continues to focus on the diversity of its product range, tailoring personalised packages to meet the needs of its customers. Lombard offers a wide variety of payment options and the team's ability to be able to provide funding in Sterling, Euro, or US Dollar currencies completes this flexibility.
For more information on marine finance please visit the Lombard team at stand E46 or call Lombard on 02380 242171 or visit www.lombard.co.uk/marine where an instant quote can be researched.
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For more information, please contact:
Claire Meeghan
Media Manager
Tel: +44 (0)20 7427 9023
Email: claire.meeghan@rbs.co.uk
Notes to Editor:
Lombard is part of The RBS Group, one of the world's leading financial services companies providing a range of retail and corporate banking, financial markets, consumer finance, insurance, and wealth management services. RBS Group operates in over 50 countries across Europe, the Americas, Asia and the Middle East serving more than 40 million customers and employing more than 170,000 people. The Group's brands include RBS, NatWest, Ulster Bank, Coutts, Citizens and many other "household name" financial services companies.
