Export finance for smaller businesses

UK Export Finance (UKEF) is the export credit agency and a ministerial department of the UK government.  The UKEF helps UK companies by providing insurance to exporters and guarantees to banks to share the risks of providing export finance. In addition, it can make loans to overseas buyers of goods and services from the UK that can protect UK exporters facing delayed payments or transit restrictions.

A new General Export Facility scheme has been launched by the UKEF in partnership with the UK’s five largest commercial banks. The new scheme has been designed to give exporting SMEs access to working capital encouraging them to export and take advantage of new free trade agreements. Under the new scheme, the government can provide an 80% guarantee on financial support from lenders to support general exporting costs, up to the value of £25 million.

The Minister for Exports, Graham Stuart, commented that:

'UKEF’s support for smaller businesses is shifting up a gear. The new General Export Facility will make a huge difference for entrepreneurs who need the financial backing to go global and benefit from our free trade agreements. It will help us bring genuine optimism back to exporters.'