Informations Rapides · 21 January 2026 · n° 11

Financial Lease kept growing in 2024 Annual financial lease survey - year 2024

In 2024, investment financed by financial lease (i.e. location with purchase option) rose by 3.0 billions euros (€ bn), i.e. an increase of 6,6 % after +7,3 % in 2023. These investments totalled €47.5bn, or 1.6% of GDP. Adjusted for price trends, the use of financial lease accelerated (+6.1% after +2.9% in 2023), but remained less dynamic than before the health crisis (+9.2% on average between 2014 and 2019).

Growth in Financial lease was driven mainly by new contracts of households leasing (mainly for the purchase of vehicles), which increased by 18.2% in volume (contributing +5.8 points to total growth). Equipment leasing for businesses, which accounted for slightly more than half of the total, rose in volume (+3.0%) and contributed +1.7 points to overall growth. Real estate leasing fell by 11.5% in volume and contributed -1.4 points. Over the long term, trends are very contrasted: adjusted for price changes, household leasing has almost quintupled between 2014 and 2024, equipment leasing has increased by around 40%, and real estate leasing has fallen by more than 20%.

In 2024, companies used equipment leasing mainly to acquire automobile vehicles (54.2% of the total of equipment leasing). Investment in automobile vehicles rose (+2.4% in value) contributing +1.3 points to equipment leasing growth. Investment in machinery and equipment (30.3% of the total) increased by 6.2%, contributing +1.8 points. Financing for computer, electronic and optical products fell sharply after a slight decline the previous year (-22.6% after -2.5% in 2023), contributing -1.3 points to the change in equipment leasing.

Agriculture was the sector where equipment leasing financing increased the most in 2024 (+13.9%). Growth was more moderate in industry (+5.8%), trade (+3.2%) and transport and storage (+7.4%). It was low in construction (+0.5%). In administrative and support service activities, financing fell by 4.7%.

In 2024, purchases of factories and warehouses (land and construction) accounted for 39.4% of property leasing (or €1.9 billion); these investments decreased by 14.7% in 2024. Investment by financial lease in offices rebounded strongly (+32.3%) after two years of sharp declines (-24.6% in 2023 and -22.3% in 2022). Investment by financial lease decreased in hotels and other buildings (-6.1%) and fell very sharply in shops and retail premises (-20.6%) and in hospitals and clinics (-64.9%).

The real estate sector, which accounts for almost half of all investment in property leasing, increased its investment in 2024 by 1.5%. Investment rose by 15.0% in electricity and gas production and distribution, after having multiplied by 3.5 in 2023. However, investment decreased in industry (-7.9%), and more strongly in trade (-28.3%) and in specialised, scientific and technical activities (-33.3%).

In 2024, the total worth of new productsobtained by households byleasingamounted to €16.6bn, of which €16.3bn concerned automobile vehicules and €0.3bn boats. The rest includes other means of transports (such as wheelchairs).