Celebration and excellence mark the 22nd Leasing Life Awards 2025 in Berlin

The European asset finance community gathered in style last night at the Hotel Adlon Kempinski for the 22nd Annual Leasing Life Awards, following a full-day conference titled Transforming the Future of Leasing.

Leasing Life Conference 2025 to focus on AI and digital transformation

Hosted with trademark wit and energy by Paul Bennett of Madox Square Advisory, the ceremony honoured nine organisations whose achievements are shaping the next era of leasing across innovation, sustainability, digital transformation, and customer impact.

Across every category, judges Roger Skinner (chairman of Finativ), Alejandro Gonzalez (editor of Leasing Life), and the joint vote from Hugo J.M. Aaldering and Paul Johnson-Ferguson (respectively, Practice Director and Executive Director of Invigors) assessed entries, awarding winners based on measurable progress, sector influence, and forward-looking vision.

Winners of the Leasing Life Awards 2025

Best Sustainability Initiative of the Year

Winner: BPCE Equipment Solutions

Judges praised BPCE Equipment Solutions for turning sustainability into a core business engine rather than a peripheral strategy. Their Care & Dare about the Future programme has financed more than €3 billion in green and circular assets, achieved EcoVadis certification across all entities, and trained over 80% of employees in ESG fundamentals. The panel highlighted how ESG principles permeate governance, credit, training, and client engagement, setting a benchmark for purpose-led transformation.

Circular Economy Model of the Year

Winner: BNP Paribas 3 Step IT

This award recognised the organisation’s renewable-energy-powered refurbishment centre, purpose-built to advance circularity. Judges admired its capacity to process hundreds of thousands of devices annually and its material impact on waste reduction, emissions savings, and resource efficiency. The project’s blend of sustainability, technological innovation, and social inclusion was cited as an example of circularity at industrial scale.

Digital Innovation of the Year (Asset Finance)

Winner: TotalSoft

TotalSoft secured the award for delivering a next-generation digital leasing platform that brings automation, AI readiness, and fully paperless operations into the mainstream. Judges remarked on its seamless customer journey, from instant approvals to cross-market connectivity, and how the solution empowers lenders, dealers, and customers with frictionless origination and onboarding. The platform was recognised as a blueprint for digital transformation in asset finance.

Digital Innovation of the Year (ESG)

Winner: PEAC Solutions

PEAC Solutions was honoured for a digital mobility platform created in collaboration with BusinessBike. Judges commended the company’s ability to merge ESG goals with customer-centric design: instant onboarding, automated credit processes, and paperless contracting all support greener commuting across Europe. The award recognised the platform’s capacity to drive sustainable behaviour through digital excellence.

Energy Transition Financing Programme of the Year

Winner: DLL

DLL impressed judges with its financing model supporting businesses through their transition to energy-efficient technologies. Through partnerships with companies such as Signify, DLL offers flexible financing that reduces emissions while easing upfront cost barriers. Judges highlighted DLL’s value chain approach, from production to consumption, as evidence of how finance can propel Europe’s energy transformation.

European Lessor of the Year

Winner: BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions

Judges highlighted BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions for excellence across operations, digital transformation, and sustainability. Its “One Bank” model and pan-European digital platform were commended for improving vendor partnerships and enabling seamless cross-border financing. The company’s remarketing centres and lifecycle management initiatives further demonstrated how environmental responsibility can be embedded into a high-performance leasing model.

Professional Services Provider of the Year

Winner: Gateley Legal

Gateley Legal was recognised for exceptional contribution to the leasing and asset finance sector, offering deep expertise across regulatory advice, disputes, fraud, and transaction support. Judges noted the firm’s two centuries of legal heritage paired with modern, multidisciplinary delivery, a combination that continues to serve clients with clarity, competence, and commercial awareness.

SME Champion of the Year

Winner: Shire Leasing

Judges celebrated Shire Leasing for its commitment to expanding access to finance for UK SMEs. The company’s ambition to support more than one million small businesses, along with its integration of new lending capabilities and digital customer experience enhancements, set it apart. Strong growth and high satisfaction scores reinforced its position as a true advocate for the SME sector.

Vendor Finance Provider of the Year

Winner: BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions

BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions earned its second award of the night for its one-stop-shop vendor model, uniting wholesale, retail, and circular financing. Judges praised its instant credit decisions, sustainability-driven #PositiveLeasing strategy, and numerous new partnerships across Europe and beyond. The entry stood out for strengthening vendor relationships while supporting environmental goals.

A night that celebrated vision, and the people behind it

The 2025 Leasing Life Awards underscored a clear message: the future of leasing belongs to organisations willing to innovate, collaborate, and operate responsibly. From digital reinvention to circularity and energy transition financing, this year's winners demonstrated how the sector is evolving with purpose.

As the ceremony closed, applause at the Hotel Adlon Kempinski reflected not only the achievements of the evening but also the shared ambition of an industry committed to shaping a more sustainable and connected future.

"Celebration and excellence mark the 22nd Leasing Life Awards 2025 in Berlin" was originally created and published by Leasing Life, a GlobalData owned brand.

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