27th March 2013
Rising Confidence in the asset based finance sector
A new survey out today from the Asset Based Finance Association (ABFA) is predicting the sector will continue its recent encouraging performance by growing 9% in 2013. The new figures forecast that total advances will be over £18bn by the year end, up from £16.6bn*.
The survey of the ABFA’s members asked them to predict growth for 2013 and found that there were expectations that the industry will grow further over the year. The total number of companies using asset based invoice is predicted to rise 7% from 42,500 to over 45,000 according to the survey.
Sales from UK and Irish firms using asset based finance are also expected to grow by 10%, rising from £254bn in 2012 to nearly £280bn in 2013.
Whilst reasonably bullish on the prospects for their own businesses, the ABFA’s members are less optimistic in assessing the general state of the UK’s economy, with just over 40% of respondents expecting conditions to remain unchanged throughout 2013. The short-term picture is even less optimistic, with almost three-quarters expecting no change and only 29% predicting just a moderate improvement in economic conditions.
Kate Sharp, chief executive of the ABFA, commented: “These new industry figures confirm the overall confidence in the sector at the moment, predicting encouraging growth across client sales, and an increase in client numbers and overall funding levels throughout 2013. This is not only good for the sector but also the UK economy as the industry is particularly strong in helping fund SMEs to grow and expand. However, our members are much less confident when it comes to assessing the UK’s economic outlook, predicting little change from where we are now.”
