UK Export Finance’s (UKEF) annual report and accounts, published this week, reveal almost £10 million of support for Northern exporters, resulting in over £44 million worth of overseas sales.
One of the northern companies benefiting from UKEF support this year was Leisurewear International, a children’s clothing designer based in Manchester that has almost doubled its turnover this year thanks to exporting success.
When Leisurewear won a high-value order from a buyer in Libya, UKEF helped Leisurewear secure the cash it needed to finance the order by providing an 80% guarantee on a working capital loan from the company’s bank. UKEF also supported Leisurewear’s export orders to China, Venezuela and Ukraine.
Yamin Ibqui, Financial Director, Leisurewear International, said: “Not only has UKEF helped us secure individual export deals, it has boosted our cashflow flexibility, giving us the capacity to buy a bigger range of products and sell in markets we haven’t been able to previously due to lack of available support.”
This year, UKEF provided £2.5 billion of support for UK exporters. This helped 191 companies sell to 75 markets around the world, 77% of which were small and medium-sized businesses.
Rt Hon. Dr Liam Fox MP, Secretary of State for International Trade, said: “As an international economic department, our priority is to do all we can to support UK businesses as they seize the opportunities of global trade. UK Export Finance is at the heart of our offer to help them do so, and this report shows that it has been a landmark year for the UK’s award-winning export credit agency.”
Baroness Fairhead, Minister of State for Trade and Export Promotion, commented: “UKEF’s results for 2017-18 once again show that when companies take advantage of its support, the effects on their business can be transformative. By providing innovative and flexible finance and insurance, the government is helping British businesses, big and small, realise the value they bring to the international marketplace.
“The range of exports supported by UKEF demonstrates that the UK’s exporters have a truly world-class export credit agency behind them – and that’s why the government’s forthcoming Export Strategy will deliver on our commitment to put UKEF at the heart of trade promotion.”
Steve Cowles, Export Finance Manager for Greater Manchester North, Lancashire and Cumbria, said:“From specialist guidance to flexible finance, it is UKEF’s ambition to provide the best possible support for UK companies seeking to grow their business by selling overseas.
“From working with multinationals to bring business to the UK, to providing safe routes to export and financial support for smaller businesses, these results show that we are delivering on that ambition.”
The results show that UKEF has supported £4.1 billion in export contracts through its trade finance products since 2011, which were introduced to help smaller businesses to export.
UKEF was also awarded ‘best export credit agency 2017’ by Global Trade Review magazine and Euromoney’s Trade Finance.
To see if finance and insurance from UKEF could give you an exporting edge, search online for ‘UKEF’.
