21 March 2018
New figures released today by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that asset finance new business (primarily leasing and hire purchase) for deals of up to £20 million grew by 4% in January, compared with the same month last year. Including high value deals, new business increased by 3% over the same period.
The plant and machinery finance and business equipment finance sectors each reported new business up in January by 8% compared with the same month in 2017, while new finance for commercial vehicles fell by 4% over the same period.
Commenting on the figures, Geraldine Kilkelly, Head of Research and Chief Economist at the FLA, said:
“The asset finance market made a positive start to 2018 with further solid growth in new finance for plant and machinery and business equipment. In particular, new business for agricultural equipment in January was 21% higher than in the same month in 2017.
“We expect asset finance new business growth in 2018 as a whole to be at a similar rate to 2017.”
Jan 2018 |
% change on prev. year |
3 months to Jan 2018 |
% change on prev. year |
12 months to Jan 2018 |
% change on prev. year |
|
Total FLA asset finance (£m) |
2,337 |
+3 |
7,523 |
+3 |
31,842 |
+5 |
Total excluding high value (£m) |
2,131 |
+4 |
6,926 |
+2 |
30,038 |
+6 |
Data Extracts: By asset: |
||||||
Plant and machinery finance (£m) |
509 |
+8 |
1,520 |
+4 |
6,654 |
+11 |
Commercial vehicle finance (£m) |
480 |
-4 |
1,748 |
-4 |
7,462 |
0 |
IT equipment finance (£m) |
133 |
+29 |
663 |
+14 |
2,315 |
+3 |
Business equipment finance (£m) |
191 |
+8 |
633 |
+5 |
2,596 |
+7 |
Car finance (£m) |
608 |
-2 |
1,928 |
-2 |
9,493 |
+4 |
Aircraft, ships and rolling stock finance (£m) |
28 |
-14 |
71 |
-36 |
545 |
+24 |
By channel: |
||||||
Direct finance (£m) |
1,066 |
0 |
3,326 |
-3 |
15,047 |
+3 |
Broker-introduced finance (£m) |
442 |
+8 |
1,444 |
+12 |
5,690 |
+11 |
Sales finance (£m) |
622 |
+10 |
2,155 |
+3 |
9,301 |
+7 |
By product: |
||||||
Finance leasing (£m) |
246 |
0 |
939 |
-1 |
3,809 |
+6 |
Operating leasing (£m) |
425 |
-2 |
1,519 |
-3 |
6,744 |
+1 |
Lease/Hire purchase (£m) |
1,166 |
0 |
3,763 |
0 |
16,907 |
+6 |
Other finance (£m) |
359 |
+10 |
826 |
+7 |
3,313 |
-3 |
Note to editors:
- In 2017, FLA members provided £128 billion of new finance to UK businesses and households. £32 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 2017.
- For media enquiries, please contact the FLA press office on 020 7420 9656.