UKEF helps aerospace exporters gain £500m in overseas sales
UK Export Finance (UKEF) today published its annual report and accounts, showing government-backed finance and insurance helped UK aerospace achieve over half a billion pounds in overseas sales in 2017-18.
This includes financing the sale of Bombardier C Series aircraft to Korean airlines, whose wings and a significant number of parts are made at the company’s site in Belfast, supporting highly skilled jobs and investment in the UK aerospace sector.
The deal was UKEF’s first time supporting a C Series aircraft sale and the first sale of the C Series to an Asian airline.
Michael Ryan, President, Bombardier Aerostructures and Engineering Services said: “We are very proud to have secured our first C Series aircraft sale to an Asian airline and with the backing of UK Export Finance and Export Development Canada look forward to building on this success.”
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. UKEF was also awarded ‘best export credit agency 2017’ by Global Trade Review magazine and Euromoney’s Trade Finance.
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.”
Last year, UKEF implemented a more proactive approach to bringing business to the UK, securing at least $250 million of UK exports to two power plant projects in Iraq at one of its flagship supplier fair events. UKEF also more than doubled the amount it lent directly to overseas buyers to help them buy UK goods and services, giving UK businesses an exporting edge in the global marketplace.
For smaller businesses, UKEF improved access to its support through a pioneering partnership with the five high street banks and by widening eligibility for its short-term trade finance products to include direct suppliers to UK exporters.
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.