£3.5bn support given to UK manufacturing industry by UKEF

UK Export Finance (UKEF) has published its annual results for 2022-23, which show the government’s export credit agency provided £3.5bn in new, direct support for UK manufacturing exporters in the last 12 months.

The financing has directly supported up to 34,000 jobs in the sector.

Overall, UKEF provided £6.5bn in new direct support to UK exporters in 2022-23. The financing, provided through loans, guarantees and insurance policies, has supported up to 55,000 domestic jobs and added £4.1bn to the UK economy in what has been a turbulent year for the sector and markets globally.

UKEF is now supporting more SMEs than at any time in the last 30 years. 84% of firms directly supported with a UKEF product were SMEs, while 82% are located outside of London.

The organisation provides financing support to businesses wishing to export, helping them to seek and win contracts by providing attractive financing terms to their buyers. The agency also helps them to fulfil export contracts by supporting working capital loans and contract bonds, and provides insurance against buyer default to ensure that exporters get paid for deals.

Lord Offord, minister for exports, said: “Manufacturing is a cornerstone of British business and supports hundreds of thousands of jobs across the country.

“UKEF has a long and proud history of backing this hugely important sector, and its continued support for manufacturing is vital as UK firms continue to bring innovation to the world stage.”

One such business that UKEF has helped is low-emissions bus manufacturer Wrightbus. Through one of its loan guarantee products, UKEF enabled £50m of financing for Wrightbus, which aims to manufacture 3,000 zero-emissions buses by 2024 – enough to comprise 10% of the UK’s total fleet.

The UKEF-backed loan, provided by Barclays, will allow Wrightbus to scale up production of electric and hydrogen-powered buses and export to both new markets like Germany and North America as well as existing markets like Singapore and Hong Kong.

UKEF’s mission is to advance prosperity by ensuring no viable UK export fails for lack of finance or insurance. The export credit agency helps companies to seek and secure support working in collaboration with the UK’s private sector, allowing them to realise their ambitions for international growth, support UK jobs and increase the nation’s exporting capacity.

UKEF has also launched a new business-friendly website, linked below, to make it easier for firms of all sizes to find out more about its services on offer, and to access the finance they need to grow.

UK Export Finance
www.ukexportfinance.gov.uk