Acquis Insurance Management, the UK based insurance experts servicing the European asset finance industry, are on track to produce record results in 2017. Revenues are up 36% on last year, driven mainly by the acquisition of new clients in mainland Europe and the territorial expansion by Acquis’s international partners.

Acquis’s client base, which is made up of bank-owned lessors, independent leasing companies and captive finance companies, will comprise of over 60 lessor accounts across fourteen European countries by the end of 2017.

Finance contracts under management have grown 43% during the past year to a record level of 250,000, with an original asset cost of €3.9bn. Acquis monitors customer insurance compliance on behalf of its lessor partners, and also provides direct insurance cover for around half of the finance contracts it manages.

Commenting on the business results, Acquis Director Nick Leader says “2017 will be our best year since the business was established in 2009 with many of our international partners extending their relationship with Acquis into new countries over the past 12 months. We have now delivered country expansion programmes to 70% of our international partners – several of which feature in Leaseurope‘s Top 50 Ranking table – and we expect all of our international partners to have made territorial expansions by the end of 2018”.

“Key aspects to Acquis’s international success”, according to Leader, “have been understanding local leasing market practices, ensuring Acquis’s products are fully compliant with national regulations, and – most importantly – being innovative and flexible”. Leader elaborates “It would be a mistake to assume that a product that is successful in one market can be copied and pasted into another. Each market is unique and the demands and needs of our clients can vary greatly as we move from one market to another.”

When asked about the future, Leader’s message was very clear “we have a clear plan for continued growth over the coming 24 months. We are in the process of implementing a further 15 lessor accounts in 11 countries and, by building upon our existing relationships and gaining momentum in less established markets, we expect our client base to grow from 60 to 90 lessor accounts by the end of 2019”.