UK Export Finance

UK Export FinanceLink opens in a new window (UKEF) is the UK government’s export credit agency, working alongside the Department for International TradeLink opens in a new window.

Established in 1919 as the world’s first export credit agency, UKEF helps exporters access finance and insurance when there is a lack of private sector risk appetite or capacity. UKEF supports exporters to:

  • win export contracts by providing attractive financing terms to their buyers
  • fulfil orders by supporting working capital and trade finance
  • get paid by insuring against buyer default

Access export finance

UKEF’s range of trade finance products can help exporters access working capital to win contracts and fulfil orders.

Bond Support SchemeLink opens in a new window: If the terms of a contract require a bond, such as performance guarantees or advance payment guarantees, UKEF’s Bond Support SchemeLink opens in a new window can guarantee up to 80% of the bond’s value to the exporter’s bank, allowing the bank to release the cash needed to secure the bond back to the exporter to use as working capital.

Export Working Capital SchemeLink opens in a new window: UKEF can provide a partial guarantee to a UK exporter’s bank in support of working capital facilities linked to specific export contracts, allowing the bank to offer the facilities to the exporter and freeing up cash flow for the exporter to fulfil additional orders. This can help exporters who win a higher value contract than normal or who need to fulfil more contracts than usual.

General Export FacilityLink opens in a new window: For businesses who want to scale up their exports, UKEF can provide a partial guarantee to a UK exporter’s bank to help the exporter gain access to trade finance facilities, helping to unlock working capital to support business growth – without the need of a specific export contract. This helps businesses cover the everyday costs linked to exporting and scale up their exports.

Manage payment risks

UKEF helps exporters manage the uncertainties of trading overseas. The Export Insurance PolicyLink opens in a new window insures businesses against the risk of not being paid for export contracts, or of not being able to recover the costs of performing that contract because of certain events. UKEF can provide cover even when the private market is not able to offer insurance.

Offering competitive terms to buyers

UKEF helps exporters win contracts by providing attractive financing to overseas buyers, either in the form of guarantees on commercial loans or by lending to them directly.

This competitive, long-term financing is particularly relevant to buyers in new and emerging markets, but is also used for larger and longer-term projects that the private sector does not have the capacity to support.

UKEF can offer support in over 60 pre-approved local currenciesLink opens in a new window, enabling more overseas buyers to buy from the UK and pay in their own currency.

Get in touch

Find out more about UKEF’s productsLink opens in a new window and read success storiesLink opens in a new window, describing real-life examples of UKEF support.

Get in touch to see if UKEF can help your business:

customer.service@ukexportfinance.gov.uk

020 7271 8010