Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) members have reported a 12% growth in asset finance new business in November 2014, compared with the same month the previous year.
The annual total of new business also passed £25 billion for the first time in more than five years.
Commenting on the figures, Geraldine Kilkelly, head of research and chief economist at the FLA, said: “November was another month of solid growth for the asset finance industry, with good performances in key sectors.
“Asset finance, primarily leasing and hire purchase, is particularly popular with SMEs because the success rate on application for micro, small and medium sized businesses is the highest of all the major finance options.
“There is good news too on FLA members’ share of UK business investment, with the latest figures showing an increase to around 28% of UK investment in machinery, equipment and purchase software in Q2 and Q3 2014.”
| Nov 14 |
% change on
prev yr
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3 mths to
Nov 14
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% change on
prev yr
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12 mths to
Nov 14
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% change on
prev yr
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total FLA asset finance (£m) | 2,000 | +12 | 6,884 | +18 | 25,070 | +15 |
| Total excluding high value (£m) | 1,897 | +10 | 6,558 | +17 | 24,419 | +15 |
| Data Extracts: | ||||||
| Plant and machinery finance (£m) | 389 | +14 | 1,272 | +15 | 5,207 | +18 |
| Commercial vehicle finance (£m) | 470 | +2 | 1,646 | +15 | 5,946 | +20 |
| IT equipment finance (£m) | 122 | +40 | 437 | +34 | 1,601 | +8 |
| Business equipment finance (£m) | 192 | +25 | 601 | +32 | 2,173 | +13 |
| Car finance (£m) | 569 | +8 | 2,128 | +22 | 7,587 | +14 |
| Aircraft, ships and rolling stock finance (£m) | 60 | -21 | 95 | -11 | 261 | -8 |
New Business cars on finance holds steady
At the same time FLA members reported a 7% growth in consumer new car finance volumes during November 2014, compared with the same month the previous year.
In the 12 months to November, this market reported growth of 13%. The percentage of private new car sales financed through dealerships by FLA members held steady at 75.9% over the same period.
There was modest growth also in consumer used car finance volumes, up 5% on November 2013. In the 12 months to November, this market reported volumes up by 15%.
Kilkelly added: “Car finance provided through dealerships is popular with consumers because of the range of finance products on offer. Personal contract purchase (PCP) has become a popular choice for many consumers, reflecting a change in attitudes to car ownership. But many customers still want to own their car outright and as a result we have also seen growth in hire purchase over the last year.”
Cars bought on finance by consumers through dealerships
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New cars | ||||||
| Value of advances (£m) | 965 | +10 | 4,347 | +15 | 13,963 | +18 |
| Number of cars | 59,983 | +7 | 273,986 | +11 | 892,737 | +13 |
| Used cars | ||||||
| Value of advances (£m) | 806 | +11 | 2,722 | +17 | 10,542 | +22 |
| Number of cars | 76,572 | +5 | 260,267 | +10 | 1,039,069 | +15 |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New cars | ||||||
| Number of cars | 33,091 | 0 | 122,741 | +18 | 455,489 | +14 |
| Used cars | ||||||
| Number of cars | 2,270 | +3 | 9,341 | -18 | 40,894 | -30 |
