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finance
Print.IT Reseller
30
The fifth quarterly SME Finance
Monitor which investigates the
availability of external finance for
the UK’s small and medium-sized
enterprises and is published by BDRC
Continental (www.bdrc-continental.
com) reports that overall, SMEs remain
upbeat about the future.
Almost half (47%) state an objective
to grow in the next 12 months, an increase
from 44% in Q1-2 2011. The study showed
a five percentage point increase over the
last year to 23% in the number of firms
seeking external finance, who say they are
considering using asset finance.
Asset finance new business was up by
4% in July compared with the previous year,
according to the latest figures from asset
finance trade body the Finance & Leasing
Association (www.fla.org.uk), and according
to BDRC Continental business equipment
finance was up by 5% year on year. Julian
Rose, Head of Asset Finance at the FLA said
that in regard to IT and business equipment
finance, generally the picture is positive.
“We’ve seen a consistent increase over
Growth in asset finance
Print.IT Reseller
explores what impact the recession and a risk-averse lending
climate has had on the leasing and hire purchase of business equipment.
the past 18 months. Whilst it’s difficult to
secure bank loans, typically asset finance
acceptance, where the loan is secured on the
equipment, is 95%.”
Outlook remains positive
Growth in asset finance was led by deals in
the plant and machinery and IT equipment
sectors, with new business up 20% and 31%
respectively compared with July 2011. Over
the next twelve months, the FLA’s confidence
survey of asset finance senior executives
shows that 74% expect a slight increase
in business investment and 79% a similar
increase in funding availability.
Asset finance lenders expect modest
growth in new business over the next twelve
months in all of the finance channels –
broker, vendor and direct. Geraldine Kilkelly,
Head of Research and Chief Economist at
the FLA said: “Our figures show that asset
finance continues to provide an attractive
borrowing solution for businesses looking to
make capital investments, with a growth rate
of 10% so far in 2012 for small and middle
ticket deals.”
Commenting on the findings, Phil Jones,
UK Country Head Brother (www.brother.
co.uk), said that people are still buying
printers and that Brother’s sales remain
buoyant. “There’s a general reluctance to
commit to a lease or fixed-term contract in
the SME market under 50 seats. What we are
seeing more here is a break/fix mentality; if
a printer breaks then they simply buy a new
one as opposed to getting it repaired.
The bizhub PRO
C75: stand-out
features include
a new 9-inch
multi-touch
colour screen
and intuitive,
smartphone-like
‘touch-and-
swipe’ interface;
and single pass
duplex scanning
for faster
throughput.
MPS is a driver
“Managed print services remain the key
product in the larger SMEs plus Enterprise
space and this continues to be a driver
for new leasing business being written, as
they meet the criteria for minimum contract
values and a general move to services-based
procurement.
“In the smaller end of the SME
marketplace, printers aren’t strategic and are
considered more of a ‘must-have’ typically
bought on the basis of an event such as a
mechanical failure, business location move
or growth. We’ll see this start to change as
providers reduce their expectations for page
volumes and devices as the market saturates
at the top end and they move down. This
will provide further opportunity to open up
the SME market to leasing and MPS if the
business case can be clearly made.”
Carl Day, Sales Director Indirect Division
at Toshiba TEC UK Imaging Systems (www.
toshibatec.co.uk), says that obtaining lease
finance is no harder today than it has been
over the last two years. “Currently we are
finding clients are seeing out existing leases
rather than upgrading early and extending
their commitment.
Phil Jones,
UK Country
Head, Brother
Asset finance new
business was up by
4% in July compared
with the previous
year, according to the
latest figures from
asset finance trade
body, the Finance &
Leasing Association.
“
”
“There’s
a general
reluctance
to commit
to a lease or
fixed-term
contract
in the SME
market
under 50
seats.”