Piraeus Leasing targets 180m-euro funding

Piraeus Leasing, a leasing company, which is part of the group of companies built around Piraeus Bank, granted funding worth 110 million euros in 2006 and estimates a 63% increase in funding this year to 180 million euros. “We doubled our business last year, our strategy being to double it each year. We financed 110 million euros’ worth of contracts with a sales team of 35 people, which means 3 million euros’ worth of contracts for each person,” Michalis Lachanas, managing director of Piraeus Leasing told ZF. He specified that the productivity of his employees was well above the average market level, which stands at approximately 1 million euros’ worth of contracts a year per employee. “Up until last year the Bucharest office was the only one we had in the country, but as of this year we want to expand outside the capital and increase the number of our sales outlets to ten,” said Lachanas. Piraeus Leasing opened two sales agencies in Iasi and Constanta in 2007 and intends to open another six by the summer. “We decided to expand because we are already working with some dealers and see great potential in these areas,” explained Lachanas.