FlexiGroup has become New Zealand’s number one technology equipment leasing provider, following the completion of its acquisition of Telecom Rentals Limited (TRL) from Spark.
FlexiGroup’s New Zealand General Manager Russell Webber says the TRL deal, which follows the firm’s 2014 acquisition of education sector leasing specialist Equico, gives FlexiGroup much broader reach in the leasing market.
“TRL is a natural fit for FlexiGroup and complements our business perfectly,” he says. “We’re now able to offer our technology leasing solutions right across the market - to the enterprise, education, retail, SME and government sectors.
“With TRL’s 1,350 customers coming on board we’re now the biggest supplier of technology leasing solutions in the country.
“Another key component of the deal is TRL’s contract to supply and lease laptops to around 2,500 schools through the Ministry of Education’s TELA program, giving FlexiGroup a significant foothold in the government market and that’s an area we think can grow.”
Webber says it will be business as usual for TRL customers and, over time, they will start to benefit from FlexiGroup’s broad range of financial services and capabilities.
FlexiGroup’s leasing products provide customers with a way to fund capital investment in technology such as IT equipment, servers, data centres, desktops and laptops as an operating expense, rather than a capital item, largely through operating leases.
“For many businesses, operating leases make more sense than funding technology out of capital expenditure, and many CIOs and CFOs prefer to plan and manage their IT and technology spend through leasing,” Webber adds.
As a result, Webber says the future is bright for the technology leasing market in New Zealand.
“Today’s schools and workplaces are embracing technology like never before and we’re seeing an increasing number employing BYOD (bring-your-own-device) policies and making use of cloud, mobility and collaboration services to vastly improve productivity,” he adds.
“Technology continues to transform our lives and, with Kiwis renowned for being early adopters, FlexiGroup is fortunate to be an enabler of that.”
Through its network of 12,000 merchant, vendor and retail partners the FlexiGroup has extensive access to four key markets, Business to Consumer, Business to Business, Retail to Consumers (and small business customers) and online, operating in Australia, New Zealand and Ireland.