New business among Leaseurope’s member organisations has fallen 3.4% year-on-year for equipment and vehicle financing deals in the first half of 2013, according to figures released by the organisation.

Members recorded a decline from €112bn last year to €108bn excluding real estate, and a 0.89% decline in total new business to €115bn when real estate is taken into account.

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The figures, covering the first six months of 2013, showed some major markets such as Germany and France declining in new deals.

France’s equipment finance deals dropped 6.97% to €5bn while vehicle leasing, excluding short term rental, was down 3.48% at €6.74bn.

Following poor growth in 2012, Germany’s usually preeminent position as the largest Leaseurope member market was challenged for the second time in the first six months of this year by the UK, which reported €22bn in new deals over the period, compared to Germany’s €19.8bn.

Part of the reason for the switch in positions came down to vehicle leasing where the UK saw a 15.5% increase in deals and Germany saw a modest decline of 2.2%.

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UK equipment deals up

The UK also showed strong growth in the equipment finance sector with the UK trade body, the Finance & Leasing Association, reporting that deals had risen 3.57%.

Germany, however, still led the way in equipment finance arranging €5.1bn in the first six months of 2013, a small decline of 0.47% compared to last year, against the UK’s €4.6bn.

Norway saw the most consistent growth of any country outside of the UK, the highlight being the increase of 9.6% in equipment finance new deals to €1.1bn.

Southern Europe continued to suffer from the fallout of the eurozone crisis with double-digit percentage declines in new deals in Spain, Italy and Portugal.

Jurgyte Bucyte, Leaseurope’s adviser in statistics and economic affairs, said the European Commission had forecast a 2% decrease in equipment investment in 2013 but expected investment levels to increase in 2014 as firms no longer postpone asset replacements which she said "bodes well for the European leasing industry."

On the publication of Leaseurope’s half-year results in 2012, Bucyte predicted 2013 would be a year of ‘healthier growth’.