FF News Logo
Monday, April 20, 2026
Bottomline x FFNews

Breaking News

Smartstream: The Evolutionary Leap from Process Automation to Full Autonomy How NOTO and Opus Advisory Group Are Unifying Fraud Prevention | NOTO, Opus Advisory Group | The Fintech Show #163 AQMetrics’ Strategy for Unifying Data, Scaling for AI, and Building Trust MPE 2026: G+D Netcetera on the Payment Security Stack Driving Higher Conversion and Lowering Fraud InsurTech NY: Camunda on Smarter Workflows Finastra: What Banks Must Do for 2026 InsurTech NY: Fair on Closing Coverage Gaps InsurTech NY: Teqfocus on Practical AI Moonfare Launches New AI-Focused Technology Strategy Innovating Finance Together Summit Highlights the Power of Collaboration in a Fast-Changing Financial Landscape Lydian Launches Co-Branded Visa Platinum Card, Turning Digital Assets Into Everyday Payments MENA Fintech Association Welcomes Facephi as a Member to Support Digital Identity and Secure Financial Onboarding Across the Region The Family Office Launches Wealth Mermaid, a Pioneering AI Wealth Assistant PayDo Launches New Crypto-to-Fiat Payment Capabilities MoneyHash and Visa Expand Partnership with Multi-Year Partnership to Expand Cybersource Enablement Across Emerging Markets

April 6 2018

Asset finance market provides support to key sectors in February

Share this post:

Share on LinkedIn Share on WhatsApp

New figures released today by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that asset finance new business (primarily leasing and hire purchase) for deals of up to £20 million fell in February by 1%, compared with the same month last year.

The plant and machinery finance and IT equipment finance sectors reported new business growth in February of 5% and 13% respectively, compared with the same month in 2017. By contrast, new business for commercial vehicles and business equipment fell by 7% and 20% respectively over the same period.

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

“Many asset sectors reported further growth in February despite it being a quieter month overall.

“The asset finance market continued to support key economic sectors with new finance for construction and agricultural equipment up by 13% and 9% respectively, compared with February 2017. The manufacturing sector also benefitted as new finance for production and process equipment was 47% higher over the same period.”

Feb 2018

% change on prev. year

3 months to Feb

2018

% change on prev. year

12 months to Feb

2018

% change on prev. year
Total FLA asset finance (£m)

2,006

-6

6,975

+1

31,718

+4
Total excluding high value (£m)

1,952

-1

6,413

-1

29,980

+5
 

Data Extracts:

 

By asset:

Plant and machinery finance (£m)

491

+5

1,512

+4

6,629

+10
Commercial vehicle finance (£m)

479

-7

1,532

-9

7,425

0
IT equipment finance (£m)

169

+13

594

+19

2,380

+5
Business equipment finance (£m)

170

-20

587

-2

2,554

+4
Car finance (£m)

552

+5

1,767

-1

9,517

+5
Aircraft, ships and rolling stock finance (£m)

9

-89

72

-58

472

-8
 

By channel:

Direct finance (£m)

948

-3

3,131

-3

14,968

+3
Broker-introduced finance (£m)

450

+10

1,369

+7

5,733

+11
Sales finance (£m)

554

-4

1,913

-1

9,279

+6
 

By product:

Finance leasing (£m)

262

+17

909

+5

3,848

+7
Operating leasing (£m)

390

-10

1,325

-9

6,699

0
Lease/Hire purchase (£m)

1,146

-3

3,514

-1

16,876

+6
Other finance (£m)

165

-34

788

-7

3,228

-8
  1. Smartstream: The Evolutionary Leap from Process Automation to Full Autonomy

    Fintech TV

     Read more
  2. How NOTO and Opus Advisory Group Are Unifying Fraud Prevention | NOTO, Opus Advisory Group | The Fintech Show #163

    Episodes

     Read more
  3. AQMetrics’ Strategy for Unifying Data, Scaling for AI, and Building Trust

    Enterprise Ireland

     Read more
  4. MPE 2026: G+D Netcetera on the Payment Security Stack Driving Higher Conversion and Lowering Fraud

    Event Videos 2026

     Read more
  5. InsurTech NY: Camunda on Smarter Workflows

    Insurtech

     Read more
Financial Services Risk & Compliance