The latest quarterly figures released today by the Asset Based Finance Association (ABFA) show total sales from firms financed by asset based finance have increased, with client sales at £49,371 million, a rise of eight per cent from March 2009.
Whilst there has been an eight percent increase in turnover compared to the Q1 2009 figures (March 2009), there has been a six percent drop in advances, which may indicate that members' clients are being conservative when it comes to drawing on funds available to them.
Kate Sharp, chief executive of the ABFA, said: "The latest figures are interesting. ABFA members' clients are representative of businesses of all sizes but particularly of the SME community. This growth in turnover is a positive indication that increased demand is filtering through to all levels of UK industry. However, whilst client sales are encouraging it seems that businesses are treading carefully when it comes to borrowing suggesting an underlying degree of uncertainty surrounding the UK's economy."
Though overall advances were down, advances against plant and machinery witnessed a positive growth of nine percent, indicating that with the resurgence of UK manufacturing, more manufacturing firms are turning to asset based finance to fund their business needs.
The ABFA stats also suggest that UK firms are expanding their horizons outside
of the UK to find new business opportunities, with export invoice discounting
showing a positive rise of 15 per cent.
To view the full report on the statistics for Quarter One 2010 please click here.