UK manufacturers finally have access to the
finance they need but are not using it enough.

This was a conclusion drawn during this year’s
national manufacturing conference, held this week at London’s Queen
Elizabeth II conference centre by trade association EEF which
featured speeches from Leader of the Opposition Ed Miliband and
Business Secretary Vince Cable.

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While delegates reported restricted access to
finance is a fading concern, some argued that reluctance by
businesses to invest in new equipment, intensified by a lack of
appropriate financial support from the government, is as big a
worry as ever for producers of goods.

Alexander Baldock, managing director of asset
finance giant and headline sponsor Lombard, took to the stage at
the event to make the case for asset finance and engage other
speakers in debate over the part it has to play in the future of UK
manufacturing.

“There is a need for accelerated capital
investment in the UK” said Baldock during a panel discussion,
adding that if UK businesses continued to stretch asset lifecycles
they put the country “at risk of a serious and permanent lack of
competitiveness.”

Talking about the need for lenders to make
good on promises to make funding available to businesses, he
continued: “We are for real, but the government has a role to play
too. Changes to capital allowances do not seem to be high on the
priority list, and the current system is far too complicated.”

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A full report on the panel session and on
the conference in general, including views from manufacturer
delegates and commentators on the pros and cons of asset finance,
will appear in this month’s issue of Leasing Life.