UK leasing continued an upward trajectory in
2011 with 10% growth in finance deals of up to £20m, according to
the latest figures from the Finance & Leasing Association
(FLA).
FLA members wrote £19.5bn in sub-£20m asset
finance in 2011 with the biggest growth in commercial vehicle
finance which grew 22% to £4.4bn compared to 2010.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Access deeper industry intelligence
Experience unmatched clarity with a single platform that combines unique data, AI, and human expertise.
Other asset classes also experienced growth
with business equipment finance up by 15%, plant and machinery
finance by 12%, IT equipment finance by 8%, and car finance by 4%.
The only sector to drop business was the aircraft, ship and rolling
stock category which was down a third to £555m.
Total FLA finance, including deals above the
£20m level, was £20.8bn, a 1% increase on the figure for 2010 and
represented around a quarter of all fixed capital investment
(excluding real property and own-account software) in the
UK last year.
The FLA splits big ticket deals from finance
written up £20m because a small number of high-value deals can
distort annual growth results, either positively or negatively.
The majority of the growth was recorded
through the vendor channel, with finance written by equipment
vendors increasing 20% year-on-year. Over the same period, finance
provided through brokers grew by 16%, and finance provided direct
by the lender was up by 4%.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataJulian Rose, head of Asset Finance at the FLA,
said: “The growth in the use of asset finance in 2011 shows just
how important this type of finance is to UK businesses. We saw
growth across the board in deals under £20 million.
“Asset finance helps small businesses get the
equipment they need to compete in tough trading conditions. It is
an affordable alternative source of finance for a huge variety of
products and equipment.”
With the exception of finance in excess of
£20m, all sectors saw growth month-on-month for December and
quarter-on-quarter for the fourth quarter of 2011. The greatest
increase over these periods was recorded in IT equipment which grew
55% in December and 28% in the final three months of the year.
grant.collinson@vrlfinancialnews.com
