Finance & Leasing Association28 January 2020
New figures released today by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that total asset finance new business (primarily leasing and hire purchase) in November 2019 was at a similar level to the same month in 2018, but grew by 6% in the eleven months to November 2019.
The IT equipment finance sector reported a second consecutive month of strong double-digit growth in November 2019 as new business increased by 41% 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 7% and 6% respectively, over the same period.
Commenting on the figures, Geraldine Kilkelly, Head of Research and Chief Economist at the FLA, said:
“Increased Brexit-related uncertainty hit business confidence in the final quarter of 2019. However, the asset finance market continued to report growth in the eleven months to November and, within the overall total, new lending to SMEs grew by 5%.
“Our latest research shows that the percentage of investment in machinery, equipment and purchased software funded by FLA members in the twelve months to September 2019 was 37.8%, the highest for almost eleven years.”
| Nov 2019 |
% change on prev. year |
3 months to Nov 2019 |
% change on prev. year |
12 months to Nov 2019 |
% change on prev. year |
|
| Total FLA asset finance (£m) |
2,583 |
0 |
8,466 |
2 |
34,541 |
6 |
| Total excluding high value (£m) |
2,394 |
-4 |
7,877 |
2 |
31,947 |
5 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Data Extracts:
By asset: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Plant and machinery finance (£m) |
532 |
-6 |
1,771 |
4 |
7,453 |
10 |
| Commercial vehicle finance (£m) |
700 |
-7 |
2,195 |
-6 |
8,982 |
9 |
| IT equipment finance (£m) |
229 |
41 |
780 |
15 |
2,803 |
3 |
| Business equipment finance (£m) |
174 |
-15 |
551 |
-10 |
2,480 |
-1 |
| Car finance (£m) |
663 |
0 |
2,179 |
3 |
9,014 |
3 |
| Aircraft, ships and rolling stock finance (£m) |
31 |
82 |
100 |
-4 |
528 |
72 |
|
By channel: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Direct finance (£m) |
1,209 |
-1 |
3,813 |
0 |
16,049 |
6 |
| Broker-introduced finance (£m) |
494 |
-10 |
1,684 |
2 |
6,633 |
10 |
| Sales finance (£m) |
692 |
-3 |
2,379 |
5 |
9,265 |
1 |
|
By product: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Finance leasing (£m) |
297 |
-8 |
1,121 |
-6 |
4,217 |
2 |
| Operating leasing (£m) |
503 |
-1 |
1,527 |
-1 |
6,087 |
-1 |
| Lease/Hire purchase (£m) |
1,398 |
-5 |
4,582 |
-1 |
19,367 |
8 |
| Other finance (£m) |
261 |
31 |
881 |
40 |
3,526 |
15 |
Note to editors:
- In 2018, FLA members provided £136 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.
