Good start of the year in leasing

By 6 March this year Customers have submitted 3000 leasing applications to Millennium Leasing. By comparison, in the same period of last year there were 1454 applications submitted. In the first two months of 2014 there were 1127 leasing agreements signed, worth PLN 336 million, as compared with 833 agreements worth PLN 221 million at end of February 2013. This represents a 35% growth of the number and 52% growth of the value of new agreements.

According to the Polish Leasing Association leasing is used to finance one out of three investments on the movables market in Poland. Leasing also supports absorption of EU funding. The total value of the active leasing portfolio at end of 2013 was PLN 64.5 Bn, as compared with the PLN 83.9 Bn portfolio of investment loans granted by banks.

Trends – leasing as a universal funding method

Reports from all over the world show that leasing has long ceased to be an instrument primarily to finance vehicles. The market of machines, equipment and real estate leasing continues to growth fast; with IT hardware and software markets booming in the US and in the Far East.

- Analysing the expectations of our Customers and the transactions, which are being concluded, we can see that also in Poland companies have long ceased to associate leasing with buying a car converted to a commercial vehicle. Leasing is nowadays a universal and popular source of funding new purchases and investments. We in Millennium Leasing increasingly often finance real estate, machines and equipment, including end-to-end process lines or complex long-term development projects – says Wojciech Rybak, Chairman of the Management Board of Millennium Leasing. 

Prospects for 2014

- Optimistic macroeconomic data show that chances are there will be economic recovery in 2014. Stepped-up investment activity of companies should contribute to GDP growth. One of the sources of financing, which are easiest available to companies, is leasing. Millennium Leasing expects portfolio growth this year by approx. PLN 500 million to the value of PLN 3.9 Bn. This money will provide tangible support for the growth of companies in Poland – Wojciech Rybak adds. 

Already 2013 was a record year for Millennium Leasing, with new agreements worth PLN 2.2 Bn and the 2nd place on the movables leasing market. Q4 2013 was particularly good, bringing PLN 647 million worth of new agreements. Compared with PLN 435 million in the last quarter of 2012 this represents more than 48% growth, with the market being up 28%.