Asset finance new business down 3% in August, says FLA

New figures released today by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) reveal that total asset finance new business – primarily leasing and hire purchase – fell by 3% in August 2025 compared with the same month a year earlier.

Despite the monthly decline, overall new business in the first eight months of 2025 remained 1% higher than during the same period in 2024, highlighting a mixed performance across different sectors of the asset finance market.

The business new car finance and business equipment finance sectors saw solid growth in August, rising 7% and 4% respectively year-on-year. However, this was offset by notable declines in other areas, with commercial vehicle (CV) finance dropping 17% and IT equipment finance falling 11%.

“The asset finance market reported a modest fall in new business in August with performances varying across asset sectors. The weakness in the CV finance sector mirrored lower new CV registrations.”

Kilkelly added that sentiment across the industry had softened in recent months.

“FLA’s Q3 2025 Industry Outlook Survey showed that more than half of asset finance respondents expected some decrease in business investment over the next year, while the proportion of respondents anticipating an increase in new business over the next 12 months fell from 79% to 71% between Q2 and Q3 2025,” she said.

With the Autumn Budget approaching, the FLA is urging the Government to prioritise policies that strengthen business confidence and investment.

“The asset finance market directly supports the real economy, funding around a third of all UK investment in vehicles, machinery and equipment,” Kilkelly said. “To help our members do even more, we are calling for leasing to be brought into the full expensing regime, and to create a new, targeted green tax allowance.”

	Aug  2025	% change on prev. year	3 months to Aug 2025	% change on prev. year	12 months to Aug 2025	% change on prev. year
Total FLA asset finance (£m)	2,684	-3	9,496	1	39,924	1
Total excluding high value (£m)	2,590	-4	9,088	1	38,198	2
Data extracts:  By asset (excluding high value):
Plant and machinery finance (£m)	570	-4	1,955	4	7,533	1
Commercial vehicle finance (£m)	669	-17	2,430	-5	10,876	2
IT equipment finance (£m)	104	-11	303	-1	1,208	-1
Business equipment finance (£m)	151	4	466	5	1,746	0
Car finance (£m)	860	4	3,138	3	13,539	0
By channel:
Direct finance (£m)	1,133	-3	3,961	1	17,514	3
Broker-introduced finance (£m)	669	-3	2,205	2	8,447	-1
Sales finance (£m)	788	-8	2,923	1	12,238	2
By product:
Finance leasing (£m)	223	-15	721	-12	2,938	-12
Operating leasing (£m)	695	-5	2,444	0	10,452	4
Lease/Hire purchase (£m)	1,341	-5	4,849	-1	20,588	0
Other finance (£m)	331	12	1,137	18	4,561	9