The Finance and Leasing Association (FLA) has reported 3% year-on-year new business growth in August to £1.5bn.
In its results, announced at the annual FLA autumn drinks, the Association reported a fifth consecutive month of growth as core asset finance new business – not including high-value assets – generated by members also rose 4% year-on-year to £5.3bn for the three months to August, and 1% to £20.9bn for the 12 months to August.
Go deeper with GlobalData
It also noted broker-introduced finance saw the first year-on-year new business growth since November 2012, rising 1%.
The best-performing sector was commercial vehicle finance, which grew 15% compared to last August to £353m, while plant and machinery grew 13% to £396m, and IT equipment and business equipment grew 6% to £96m and 3% to £131m respectively.
New business for car finance dropped 9% from the same period in 2012 to £398m, while aircraft, ships and rolling stock plummeted 95% to £4m.
Geraldine Kilkelly, chief economist at the FLA, said: "The latest figures for the asset finance industry are encouraging, with key sectors reporting strong growth.
"So far in 2013, core asset finance has grown by 2% to reach £13.8 billion. That compares well with total UK business investment which actually fell by 8.3% in the first half of 2013 compared with the same period in 2012."
