SME's turn to leasing

 SMEs turning to leasing firms

The use of leases by British businesses leapt 12% in 2015 to its highest level in seven years, according to statistics from the Finance & Leasing Association. Firms secured £29.1bn of leases last year for assets such as new vehicle fleets, IT systems and office equipment - up from £26bn the previous year and just below the £30.8bn secured in 2008. Peter Alderson, head of small business finance provider LDF, said the migration of SMEs to leasing firms rather than banks for finance is partly the result of loans to fund merger and acquisition deals crowding out lending to SMEs.

Source: The Mail on Sunday (21/02/2016)