13 February 2020
New figures released today by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that total asset finance new business (primarily leasing and hire purchase) grew by 1% in December 2019, and by 6% in 2019 to reach a record annual total of £35.7 billion.
In December, the IT equipment finance sector continued to report double-digit growth as new business increased by 10% compared with the same month in 2018. By contrast, the commercial vehicle finance and plant and machinery finance sectors reported falls in new business of 2% and 22% respectively, over the same period.
In 2019 as a whole, the commercial vehicle finance and plant and machinery finance sectors reported the strongest growth rates, with new business up by 9% and 5% respectively, compared with 2018.
Commenting on the figures, Geraldine Kilkelly, Head of Research and Chief Economist at the FLA, said:
“The asset finance industry reached a record level of new business in 2019, despite continued weakness in business investment. Within the overall total, more than £20 billion went to SMEs to fund investment in machinery and equipment, 4% higher than in 2018.
“Key industry sectors benefitted from using asset finance last year, with double-digit growth in new finance provided for construction and manufacturing equipment.”
Dec 2019 |
% change on prev. year |
3 months to Dec 2019 |
% change on prev. year |
12 months to Dec 2019 |
% change on prev. year |
|
Total FLA asset finance (£m) |
2,943 |
1 |
8,679 |
1 |
35,653 |
6 |
Total excluding high value (£m) |
2,605 |
0 |
7,970 |
0 |
33,008 |
5 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Data Extracts:
By asset: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Plant and machinery finance (£m) |
530 |
-22 |
1,677 |
-9 |
7,320 |
5 |
Commercial vehicle finance (£m) |
693 |
-2 |
2,186 |
-7 |
9,136 |
9 |
IT equipment finance (£m) |
376 |
10 |
840 |
25 |
2,830 |
3 |
Business equipment finance (£m) |
231 |
2 |
603 |
-9 |
2,465 |
-2 |
Car finance (£m) |
754 |
8 |
2,382 |
4 |
9,998 |
4 |
Aircraft, ships and rolling stock finance (£m) |
35 |
17 |
116 |
-5 |
566 |
88 |
By channel: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Direct finance (£m) |
1,279 |
-5 |
3,987 |
-1 |
16,680 |
5 |
Broker-introduced finance (£m) |
522 |
1 |
1,689 |
1 |
6,782 |
9 |
Sales finance (£m) |
804 |
7 |
2,294 |
1 |
9,546 |
2 |
By product: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Finance leasing (£m) |
339 |
-15 |
1,088 |
-8 |
4,378 |
3 |
Operating leasing (£m) |
640 |
7 |
1,815 |
1 |
6,984 |
1 |
Lease/Hire purchase (£m) |
1,458 |
-5 |
4,476 |
-4 |
19,305 |
6 |
Other finance (£m) |
336 |
35 |
930 |
44 |
3,587 |
18 |
Note to editors:
- In 2019, FLA members provided £140 billion of new finance to UK businesses and households. £36 billion of finance was provided to businesses and the public sector. FLA members financed more than a third of UK investment in machinery, equipment and purchased software in the UK in 2019.
- For media enquiries, please contact the FLA press office on 020 7420 9656.