16 June 2009
Responding to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills’ call for evidence on business access to finance, Stephen Sklaroff, Director General of the Finance & Leasing Association said,
“We welcome this call for evidence. There is an urgent need for small businesses to get access to finance because Britain’s future prosperity depends on significant investment in new plant. Last year, asset finance provided 750,000 SMEs with £15 billion of finance for investment. But we could fund another £5 billion with the right kind of Government support. The Govt needs to act now to help ensure both that SMEs can afford to invest in new plant using leasing, and that funding is available for assets that will help deliver growth and jobs.”
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In 2008 FLA members financed £90 billion of new business. Almost £30 billion was provided to the business sector and UK public services, representing almost 28% of all fixed capital investment in the UK last year (excluding real property and own-account software).