The Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) has reported that asset finance new business (primarily leasing and hire purchase) for deals of up to £20 million grew by 6% in July, compared with the same month last year.

However, including high value deals, new business fell by 1% over the same period.

The plant and machinery finance and business equipment finance sectors reported new business up in July by 20% and 13% respectively, compared with the same month in 2016, while new finance for commercial vehicles was flat over the same period.

Geraldine Kilkelly, head of research and chief economist at the FLA, said: “The latest figures confirm the importance of the asset finance industry to the UK economy.

“The most recent official business investment data suggests that the share of UK investment in machinery, equipment and purchased software financed by FLA members was 33.3% in the 12 months to June 2017, up from 31.8% in the same period in 2016, and at its highest level for more than eight years.”