Finance & Leasing Association5 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.
