5 April 2019
New figures released today by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that asset finance new business (primarily leasing and hire purchase) grew in February 2019 by 15%, compared with the same month last year.
The commercial vehicle finance and IT equipment finance sectors reported new business growth in February of 36% and 10% respectively, compared with the same month in 2018, while business equipment finance grew by 8% over the same period.
Commenting on the figures, Geraldine Kilkelly, Head of Research and Chief Economist at the FLA, said:
“Over the last three months, the asset finance market has reported double-digit growth in new finance provided to both SMEs and larger businesses for investment in a broad range of machinery and equipment.
“Asset finance has proved particularly popular with SMEs, achieving the highest application success and satisfaction rates in 2018 compared with other external finance products.”
Feb 2019 |
% change on prev. year |
3 months to Feb 2019 |
% change on prev. year |
12 months to Feb 2019 |
% change on prev. year |
|
Total FLA asset finance (£m) |
2,293 |
+15 |
7,602 |
+10 |
33,078 |
+5 |
Total excluding high value (£m) |
2,138 |
+10 |
6,961 |
+9 |
30,879 |
+4 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Data Extracts:
By asset: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Plant and machinery finance (£m) |
500 |
+1 |
1,794 |
+19 |
6,984 |
+6 |
Commercial vehicle finance (£m) |
658 |
+36 |
1,911 |
+24 |
8,257 |
+12 |
IT equipment finance (£m) |
190 |
+10 |
742 |
+21 |
2,797 |
+16 |
Business equipment finance (£m) |
181 |
+8 |
613 |
+6 |
2,669 |
+6 |
Car finance (£m) |
542 |
+0 |
1,832 |
+6 |
8,973 |
-4 |
Aircraft, ships and rolling stock finance (£m) |
18 |
+208 |
66 |
-5 |
314 |
-33 |
By channel: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Direct finance (£m) |
1,015 |
+6 |
3,485 |
+10 |
15,434 |
+3 |
Broker-introduced finance (£m) |
515 |
+21 |
1,487 |
+16 |
6,251 |
+14 |
Sales finance (£m) |
608 |
+9 |
1,989 |
+3 |
9,194 |
-1 |
By product: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Finance leasing (£m) |
350 |
+34 |
993 |
+10 |
4,198 |
+10 |
Operating leasing (£m) |
395 |
0 |
1,315 |
-1 |
5,965 |
-10 |
Lease/Hire purchase (£m) |
1,319 |
+15 |
4,282 |
+22 |
18,598 |
+11 |
Other finance (£m) |
152 |
+2 |
772 |
+4 |
3,087 |
0 |
Note to editors:
- In 2018, FLA members provided £137 billion of new finance to UK businesses and households. £33 billion of finance was provided to businesses and the public sector. FLA members financed around third of UK investment in machinery, equipment and purchased software in the UK in 2018.
- For media enquiries, please contact the FLA press office on 020 7420 9656.