UK new business grew by 4% year-on-year to £5.32bn (€6.38bn) in the third quarter of 2013, according to the Finance and Leasing Association (FLA) figures have shown.

September’s new business was £1.93bn, up 2% on September 2012, making it the sixth consecutive month of growth, while new business for the 12 months to September 2013 stood at £20.99bn.

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In September, IT equipment finance saw the strongest growth, at 14% year-on-year to £129m, and also grew 10% year-on-year to £1.48bn for the 12 months to September 2013.

Although it only grew by 1% for the 12 months to September to £4.74bn and 3% to £484m in the month of September, commercial vehicle finance saw the strongest growth in the third quarter overall, at 10%, year-on-year, to £1.23bn.

Car finance grew by 7% year-on-year to £600m in September, and grew 3% to £6.7bn for the 12 months for September. New business stood at £1.62bn for the third quarter.

Plant and machinery finance was up 7% year-on-year in the third quarter, to £1.16bn, bringing its total growth for the 12 months to 3%, or £4.67bn.

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Despite business equipment finance remaining flat at £438m in the third quarter, the sector actually fell by 4% to £1.87bn in the 12 months to September, helped by a 13% fall in September, to £150m.

Geraldine Kilkelly, chief economist at the FLA said: "Recent data from the Office for National Statistics suggest that the importance of asset finance in supporting business investment has increased. The percentage of fixed capital investment financed by FLA members grew to 34.1% in the second quarter of 2013, its highest level since Q1 2011."