The Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) has revealed that total asset finance new business (primarily leasing and hire purchase) grew by 6% in August 2021 compared with the same month in 2020.

In the eight months to August 2021, new business was 22% higher than in the same period in 2020.

The commercial vehicle finance sector reported new business up by 15% in August compared with the same month in 2020. Over the same period, the business equipment finance and plant and machinery finance sectors each reported new business growth of 12%.

Geraldine Kilkelly, director of research and chief economist at the FLA, said: “The asset finance market reported its seventh consecutive month of new business growth in August, despite some sectors continuing to experience supply shortages of assets to finance.

“Our latest research demonstrates the huge economic contribution that the asset finance industry makes by supporting businesses as they recover from the pandemic – more than 40% of UK investment in machinery, equipment and purchased software was funded by FLA members in the second quarter of 2021.

“We therefore continue to urge the government to extend the super-deduction allowance for expenditure on qualifying plant and machinery to include leasing so the industry can support more businesses to recover and grow.”