grenke expands presence in the USA

grenke AG, a global financing partner for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), is expanding its footprint in the United States with the opening of a second location in Chicago, Illinois. Building on its initial presence in Phoenix, Arizona, established in 2019, grenke is now set to serve the Central, North, and Southeast regions from its new Chicago hub.

This strategic expansion reflects grenke’s ambition to capitalise on the US market, which boasts over 30 million SMEs—more than in all of Europe. As the largest leasing market globally, the US offers enormous potential for the company’s niche in small-ticket leasing, where contracts average under €9,000 and can range up to €50,000.

grenke CEO, Dr. Sebastian Hirsch, sees this opportunity as a key driver of the company’s growth strategy.

“There is enormous potential in the US market, featuring over 30 million SMEs. Through our specialized small-ticket offers, we are now taking the next step to tap into a market niche worth several billion U.S. dollars per year,” Hirsch said. “We expect the US to be a key driver of our long-term, sustainable organic growth, and to become one of our most important core markets.”

grenke has steadily been making inroads into the US market despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Its Phoenix office, which serves the western United States, laid the foundation for its expansion into new territories.

According to Thomas Sauerteig, Managing Director of the Phoenix location, grenke is well-positioned to take advantage of the growing demand for SME investments, particularly in digitalisation and green technology sectors.

“The coronavirus pandemic unfortunately slowed our progress slightly over the past three years, but we are now continuing our breakthrough in the US market. The ongoing investment needs of SMEs – especially in areas like digitalisation and the green economy – present significant growth opportunities for leasing offers in the rapidly expanding US economy. We provide US-based specialist resellers attractive financing models that allow their customers to realise investments quickly and easily.”

The new Chicago office will focus on financing a broad range of equipment, including key sectors like hospitality, point-of-sale systems, and medical technology. However, grenke’s Managing Director of the Chicago location, Jürgen Eichinger, points out that office and IT equipment remain the most in-demand categories in the US.

“We are placing a strong emphasis on medical technology and green technology sectors, where we are seeing significant interest,” Eichinger said.

“The conversations we’ve had over the past few months at trade shows across several states reaffirm our focus.”

This year, grenke aims to generate new business in the US in the mid-single-digit million euro range, with anticipated growth rates well above average for at least the next decade.