UK asset finance new business rises 1% in June 2025: FLA
The IT equipment finance sector witnessed a decrease to £93m, with new business contracting by 15%. Credit: wichayada suwanachun / Shutterstock.com
The Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) has released new statistics indicating a slight increase in the UK’s asset finance new business for June 2025.
FLA’s figures show a 1% rise to £3.3bn ($4.43bn), when compared to the same month in the previous year.
This growth trend is consistent with the data for the first half of 2025, which also saw a 1% increase compared to the first six months of 2024.
Despite the overall growth, the performance across different sectors of asset finance was mixed.
In June 2025, several sectors saw growth in new business: commercial vehicle finance rose to £907m, marking a 7% increase; plant and machinery finance climbed to £684m, up by 10%; and business equipment finance surged to £168m, with a 23% rise.
On the other hand, the IT equipment finance sector experienced a downturn, with new business falling by 15% to £93m.
The car finance sector, valued at £1.1bn, experienced a slight decline of 2% while the finance for aircraft, ships, and rolling stock dropped by 27% to £32m.
Asset finance acquisition methods also showed varied performance, with direct finance reaching £1.3bn, up 4%; broker-introduced finance at £736m, a 2% increase; and sales finance growing by 6% to £1.06bn.
In terms of the types of finance products, finance leasing observed a notable decrease of 25%, while operating leasing remained unchanged.
On the other hand, lease/hire purchase agreements saw an increase of 4%, and there was a significant surge in other financial products, which rose by 43%.
FLA director of research and chief economist Geraldine Kilkelly 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.”
Last month, FLA supported the UK Government’s announcement that more than £4.5bn was allocated to the British Business Bank as part of its Backing Your Business plan for small businesses.
