| A new approach to container financing
appears to be paying off for CG Capital Ltd, which was formed
earlier this year by two former Transamerica Finance Corporation
(TFC) executives. |
| With container demand remaining strong,
CG Capital reports a high level of interest in its customer-focused
structured finance solutions. These include long-term off balance
sheet operating leases as well as all types of finance lease
from three year terms upwards, which, says marketing director
Rob Hawking, are designed to “take the hassle out of arranging
container finance for banks and box buyers alike.” |
| The company has already funded in
excess of US$100 mill of box and tank container acquisitions
for major European shipping lines and tank operators, has a
healthy pipeline of signed transactions going forward and is
now looking to extend its operation into the Asian market. |
| CG Capital was formed in February
this year by Hawking and Jonathan Royals, both of whom worked
in TFC’s structured finance division, after GE Commercial
Finance acquired most of TFC fromAegon in a US$5.4 bill deal
in August 2003. “We saw an opportunity for a company that
could provide shipping lines with competitive financing in a
convenient, packaged form, with a specific focus on flexibility
and the needs of the customer” Hawking said. |
| Using Royals’ 20 year background
in corporate banking and Hawking’s experience in the container
operating lease sector, CG Capital has established relationships
with a suite of banks which have not traditionally been involved
in container finance and matched them with shipping line and
tank operator customers looking to expand or replace their container
fleets. |
| “In this way,” said Hawking,
“we are bringing new liquidity into the container market,
providing banks with a new source of business and providing
box buyers with new lines of credit. The customer gets competitive,
flexible, hasslefree finance; the banks get chunky, creditworthy
deals. |
| “The reaction from European
operators has been highly positive and we are now planning to
offer similar service to operators in Asia as well as to container
leasing companies,” he said. |
| An initial move into the leasing
sector has, in fact, already been made. First Tank Finance,
a separate division of CG Capital, has entered into a strategic
alliance with EXSIF Worldwide, the world’s largest tank
container lessor, to offer a vendor finance programme to EXSIF
customers committed to tank ownership. |
| This arrangement has allowed EXSIF
to broaden its services to customers, whilst providing a further
outlet for CG Capital’s long term structured finance offerings. |
|
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