According to a report out this morning, lending to consumers and businesses by banks has fallen to the lowest level in almost six years. Nothing in that report that we all did not know.
A leading economist said “Overall there is little in this data to suggest a break from recent trends. Business lending continues to contract” So what ever happened to quantitative easing? The Bank of England has already put £375 billion into this scheme, and yet, this has not filtered down to make a real difference. When I say a real difference, I mean one that is felt by real SME’s and companies who are fighting to survive, keeping jobs, and looking to invest in new equipment. Without investment, we will simply stagnate.
Whilst the banks appear to have sat on their hands, help to SME’s have come from leasing companies. It is equipment leasing that is filling the gap left by the banks’ inertia. Latest figures show that equipment leasing and equipment finance grew by 9% in the last quarter. The largest growth in equipment leasing was I.T., up by 48% and plant & machinery, up by 13%.
It is not just in the UK where equipment leasing is growing, in Germany, growth was 3.6%, according to the German leasing Association, the BDL. A similar pattern has also happened in The Netherlands, where equipment leasing grew by just over 2%.
Oak is helping fund the gap left by the banks by funding everything from machinery, medical equipment, catering equipment, to shopfitting and IT equipment.
As we start to approach the autumn, it is crucial not to keep standing still, that is just an illusion. If you think you are standing still, in reality, you are going backwards. You have to invest for growth, and as you know, the banks are very slow in coming forward, so approach your equipment leasing companies for funding, especially Oak! And remember that Oak can help you arrange european equipment leasing, both as a one off or a full supplier led programme. Well I had to say that didn’t I!
We are real people in the real world, very approachable, no tablets of stone underwriting, so just give us a call, and see how we can help you with your equipment leasing.