Asset finance market grows by 7% in December

New figures released today by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that asset finance new business (primarily leasing and hire purchase) grew in December by 7% compared with the same month in 2017, and by 5% in Q4 2018 as a whole.

The plant and machinery finance and commercial vehicle finance sectors reported new business up in December by 29% and 18% respectively, compared with 2017, while new finance for IT equipment was up by 16% over the same period.

Commenting on the figures, Geraldine Kilkelly, Head of Research and Chief Economist at the FLA, said:

“The asset finance market reported strong growth across many sectors in the final quarter of 2018 which contributed to a record level of new business in 2018 as a whole of almost £33 billion.  This represented the eighth consecutive year of growth.

“The temporary increase in the Annual Investment Allowance for plant and machinery from 1 January 2019 announced in the last Budget should support further growth in this sector over the next few months.”

 

Dec 2018

% change on prev. year

3 months to Dec

2018

% change on prev. year

12 months to Dec

2018

% change on prev. year

Total FLA asset finance (£m)

2,788

+7

8,236

+5

32,571

+3

Total excluding high value (£m)

2,501

+8

7,656

+4

30,472

+3

 

Data Extracts:

 By asset:

Plant and machinery finance (£m)

660

+29

1,786

+18

6,849

+5

Commercial vehicle finance (£m)

673

+18

2,218

+14

7,984

+7

IT equipment finance (£m)

342

+16

674

-9

2,714

+15

Business equipment finance (£m)

247

+11

735

+16

2,659

+4

Car finance (£m)

617

+3

2,040

-7

8,893

-5

Aircraft, ships and rolling stock finance (£m)

30

-17

123

+105

312

-43

 By channel:

Direct finance (£m)

1,268

+13

3,833

+5

15,259

+2

Broker-introduced finance (£m)

502

+8

1,629

+12

6,090

+12

Sales finance (£m)

731

-1

2,195

-5

9,123

-1

 By product:

Finance leasing (£m)

381

-4

1,134

+11

4,094

+8

Operating leasing (£m)

511

0

1,531

-6

5,981

-11

Lease/Hire purchase (£m)

1,532

+28

4,658

+13

18,158

+8

Other finance (£m)

249

-3

637

-5

3,052

-3