The Irish leasing company, CLF Yeoman, has put its London-based CLF arm up for sale after pre-tax profits plunged to $5.83m, the equivalent of IUKP3.26m, in the period to August 31. CLF, acquired by Yeoman in 1988, lost $1.6m on top of the $5.73m required to service the original UKP88m acquisition. CLF Yeoman benefits from the shelter provided by the Shannon Customs-Free Airport Zone, and like the CLF subsidiary, is also involved in car leasing in the UK. CLF handles expensive cars and heavy plant machinery, and at the time of the acquisition, over 30% of its annual business was derived from leasing microcomputers and peripherals, although the company says that has been reduced to around 10%.
