Asset finance grows by 1%

New figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that total asset finance new business (primarily leasing and hire purchase) in June 2025 grew by 1% compared with the same month in 2024.  In the first half of 2025, new business was also 1% higher than in the same period in 2024.

The commercial vehicle finance, plant and machinery finance, and business equipment finance sectors reported new business up in June by 7%, 10% and 23% respectively, compared with the same month in 2024. By contrast, the IT equipment finance sector reported a fall in new business of 15% over the same period.

Commenting on the figures, Geraldine Kilkelly, Director of Research and Chief Economist at the FLA, said “The asset finance market ended the second quarter with growth across many key sectors, including the agricultural equipment finance and construction equipment finance sectors which saw new business up in June by 14% and 7% respectively. Despite the challenging economic environment, the asset finance market reported growth of 1% in H1 2025 compared with H1 2024.

“The asset finance industry plays a key role in supporting businesses of all sizes to invest and grow which is vital to getting the UK economy back on track. We expect further cuts in Bank Rate this year, which will help SMEs considering investment in business equipment, machinery and vehicles. The asset finance industry is expected to report single-digit new business growth by value in 2025 as a whole.”

	Jun  2025	% change on prev. year	3 months to Jun 2025	% change on prev. year	12 months to Jun 2025	% change on prev. year
Total FLA asset finance (£m)	3,308	1	10,110	-3	39,898	1
Total excluding high value (£m)	3,180	4	9,762	0	38,196	2
Data Extracts:   By asset:
Plant and machinery finance (£m)	684	10	1,994	-1	7,620	2
Commercial vehicle finance (£m)	907	7	2,711	-3	11,117	5
IT equipment finance (£m)	93	-15	281	-20	1,242	0
Business equipment finance (£m)	168	23	447	7	1,779	0
Car finance (£m)	1,110	-2	3,513	0	13,429	-2
Aircraft, ships and rolling stock finance (£m)	32	-27	156	37	373	7
By channel:
Direct finance (£m)	1,380	4	4,540	5	17,472	2
Broker-introduced finance (£m)	736	2	2,203	-3	8,409	0
Sales finance (£m)	1,064	6	3,019	-4	12,315	3
By product:
Finance leasing (£m)	228	-25	698	-13	2,962	-13
Operating leasing (£m)	858	0	2,732	3	10,450	5
Lease/Hire purchase (£m)	1,762	4	5,229	-4	20,687	1
Other finance (£m)	368	43	1,202	5	4,501	7