Warning that liquidity is tied up in industrial equipment

SFS estimated that this locked liquidity would cost UK manufacturing around £10 billion between 2014 and 2018 representing 0.12% of the nation's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In the same period, SFS said locked liquidity in manufacturing would total £23 billion in France (0.30% of GDP) and £48.4 billion in Germany (0.44% of GDP). It added: "Considerable amounts of liquidity are also trapped in the manufacturing sector of emerging economies – £1,129.1 billion in China (2% of GDP), £137.3 billion in India (0.70% of GDP) and £22.9 billion in Turkey (0.53% of GDP)." Manufacturing represents more than 22% of Germany's economy compared with around 10% in the UK. SFS said: "Germany therefore has a much higher level of locked liquidity than its developed European neighbours. "This trapped capital cannot be deployed in other business-driven activities, such as new product development, sales initiatives or increase in production due to spikes in demand. As a result, it has a restrictive effect on businesses' competitive positioning and is a serious lost opportunity cost." SFS said asset finance including leasing and renting was an effective method of liberating liquidity locked in equipment purchase.