Allgemeine Kredit Coface Finanz (AKCF), the German subsidiary of French financial group Coface, is anticipating further growth in its business in Germany. In particular, the company hopes to achieve growth in its factoring business.
At present, Germany has a share of only 6.4 per cent in the European factoring market; however, the company believes that this situation is set to change, particularly as banks are becoming reluctant to provide funding for small- and medium-sized businesses (SMEs). According to AKCF, factoring is likely to become an important source of liquid funds for SMEs.
By the end of last year, AKCF had a 17 per cent share of the German factoring market, making it the second-largest provider in Germany. The volume of factoring rose by 10 per cent to Ђ5.7bn in 2003, while the pre-tax profit increased from Ђ2.6m to Ђ8.3m. The company hopes to continue to achieve growth in double figures over the next few years.
