Two years of soaring inflation, the highest interest rates since 2009, soaring energy costs due to conflict in Ukraine and the Middle East, plus a general election on the horizon have reduced the appetite for SMEs to invest. The IMF has downgraded its 2024 forecast for UK growth to 0.6%, the lowest in the G7, and lenders are already facing higher credit risks and rising defaults.
Amid this gloomy outlook, however, the asset finance industry is optimistic (in public at least), according to Asset Finance Connect’s inaugural Asset Finance Outlook report for H2 2023, sponsored by FIS. Historically, when the lending market gets tough, asset finance thrives, supporting SMEs when other lenders withdraw.
In September 2023, Asset Finance Connect carried out the first in a new half-yearly asset finance confidence survey designed to gauge market sentiment for the next six months among leading asset finance providers. Respondents were exclusively selected from companies that serve the SME community.
Time Finance plc (LON:TIME) is an AIM-listed business specialising in the provision or arrangement of funding solutions to UK businesses seeking to access the finance they need to realise their growth plans. Time Finance can fund businesses or arrange funding with their trusted partners through Asset Finance, Invoice Finance, Business Loans, Vehicle Finance or Asset Based Lending.