Off The Beaten Track (Published February 2005)
Our
usual client story describes something complex and off the normal beaten track
of trade finance. This client itself excels off the beaten track, so we are
on very familiar territory.
Fourtec Ltd is the new UK distributor
for Santana and Bremach vehicles. If you had not heard of these before, then
I expect you will do so soon. Bremachs, built in Italy, are very capable platform
vehicles, with a wide range of off-road applications.
Santanas are built in Spain in a factory with decades of experience building
Land Rovers under licence. Whilst Land Rover moves away from the utility and
off-road markets towards lifestyle buyers, Santana fills the gap with its PS10.
The PS10 has just won the prestigious "Commercial Motor" category annual award,
beating competitors from Isuzu, Mazda/Ford and Jeep.
My son, Matt, was deputy editor of "Land Rover World", following which he spent
30 months driving his Land Rover all over Europe, the Middle East, and Africa
writing about his experiences. What a way to earn your living! The joy for my
wife and me was to travel with him when he was in Tanzania and Namibia.
As a freelance journalist Matt had the opportunity to test the PS10 against
the Defender. His independent six-page assessment was published in the January
edition of "Total Off Road". In summary he concludes, "The PS10’s greatest strengths
lie in its simplicity and its off-road capability".
So where do we come in?
". . . one of the advantages of being clients of ours is that we are
used to solving any difficult questions as they arise."
It is strange but true that branded suppliers often do not offer credit to
their own distributors. They appoint distributors for the qualities of their
people but overlook whether they have sufficient financial resources to issue
letters of credit or pay before supply. The manufacturer asks for the impossible,
unless a trade financier like us can offer the distributor a purchase facility.
Fourtec's vehicles are presold to retailers, end-users, or leasing companies
and we offer import financing in a variety of forms. On arrival in the UK, some
vehicles are fitted with lifts or other accessories in the UK before sale. As
is normal with our clients, new questions continually arise when the facility
is in use, but one of the advantages of being clients of ours is that we are
used to solving any difficult questions as they arise.
We look forward to a bumpy off-road ride
for all customers of these vehicles, but a
smooth passage for Fourtec. Look out for
Santana and Bremach.
Written by David Ross Director
Download
the Article 'Off The Beaten Track' at www.fairfaxgerrard.co.uk/docs/BusMon 0205
Off the Beaten Track.pdf
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