Portugal emerges as European bright spot as factoring jumps 11.3%

Portugal has emerged as one of Europe’s fastest-growing markets for specialised financing, with factoring activity surging 11.3% in the first half of 2025, far outpacing the European average, according to new figures released by the Portuguese Association of Leasing, Factoring and Renting (ALF).

The data, compiled from half-year reports by Leaseurope, the European Federation of Leasing and Renting, and EUFederation, the European Factoring Federation, show that while growth across Europe has been modest, Portugal continues to strengthen its position in factoring, equipment leasing and vehicle renting, despite a slight decline in overall production volumes.

Across Europe, leasing and renting new production reached €202.7 billion in the first six months of 2025, representing a 2.2% increase compared with the same period last year. Growth was driven primarily by vehicle leasing, which rose 5.9% to €146.4 billion.

Equipment leasing declined by 8.7% to €46.9 billion, reflecting sharp contractions in major markets such as Germany, where volumes fell by 37.5%. By contrast, real estate leasing expanded strongly, increasing 17.0% to €5.7 billion, supported mainly by growth in Belgium and Greece.

Within this European context, Portugal recorded new leasing and renting production of €2.022 billion, a decrease of 2.6% year on year. Vehicle leasing totalled €1.307 billion, down 2.1%, while real estate leasing fell 19.2% to €358 million.

However, Portugal distinguished itself in equipment leasing, which grew 19.4% to €357 million, making it one of the strongest performers in Europe in this segment. The renting sector also showed notable momentum, with the number of vehicles rising 4.3% to 19,426 and the managed fleet portfolio increasing 12.1% to €2.964 billion – among the highest growth rates recorded in Europe.

The most striking results came from the factoring market. According to EUFederation, European factoring volumes reached €1.24 trillion in the first half of 2025, representing growth of 2.2%.

Portugal, however, posted growth of 11.3% – more than five times the European average – with turnover reaching €23.9 billion. This performance places Portugal among the top three European countries for factoring penetration as a share of GDP, alongside Belgium and Spain, underlining the importance of the product for corporate cash-flow management.

“The results now released show that Portugal is among the most dynamic countries in Europe in specialised financing,” he said. “The strong growth of factoring and the expansion of the leasing and renting portfolio prove the confidence of Portuguese companies in these instruments. ALF will continue to work to strengthen this contribution to the competitiveness, modernisation and energy transition of the Portuguese economy.”