Finance & Leasing Association4 December 2014
New figures released today by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show 10% growth in asset finance new business in October 2014, compared with the same month last year. Over the same period, new business in the core market for deals of up to £20 million increased by 21%.
Growth across key asset finance sectors continued. Compared with October 2013, IT equipment finance grew by 52% and business new car finance by 31%. The commercial vehicle finance sector reported its strongest rate of growth so far in 2014, with new business up by 28% in October.
Commenting on the figures, Geraldine Kilkelly, Head of Research and Chief Economist at the FLA said:
“The asset finance industry, through the provision of leasing and hire purchase, has played a key role in supporting the recovery in business investment over the last year.
“With the industry reporting its thirteenth consecutive month of growth in October, the core market is to likely reach £24.8 billion in 2014 as a whole and surpass its pre-recession level in 2015.”
| Oct 2014 | % change on prev. year | 3 months to Oct 2014 | % change on prev. year | 12 months to Oct 2014 | % change on prev. year | |
| Total FLA asset finance (£m) | 2,356 | +10 | 6,633 | +16 | 24,860 | +14 |
| Total for deals of up to £20 million (£m) | 2,331 | +21 | 6,411 | +19 | 24,249 | +14 |
| Data extracts: | ||||||
| Plant and machinery finance (£m) | 435 | +10 | 1,304 | +13 | 5,159 | +17 |
| Commercial vehicle finance (£m) | 611 | +28 | 1,546 | +17 | 5,939 | +22 |
| IT equipment finance (£m) | 167 | +52 | 423 | +26 | 1,566 | +5 |
| Business equipment finance (£m) | 179 | +17 | 548 | +23 | 2,134 | +12 |
| Car finance (£m) | 782 | +25 | 2,099 | +30 | 7,544 | +13 |
| Aircraft, ships and rolling stock finance (£m) | 14 | +415 | 48 | +37 | 277 | +5 |
Note to editors:
- In 2013, FLA members provided £89.0 billion of new finance to UK businesses and households. £22.4 billion of finance was provided to businesses and the public sector. FLA members financed almost 27% of UK investment in machinery, equipment and purchased software in the UK last year.
