Member Article

Yorkshire firm given £20m export boost

A Yorkshire-based business, Forum Energy Technologies, has secured a £20m export finance guarantee from UK Export Finance (UKEF).

The mid-sized firm, which specialises in oil-field technology development received the financial support to secure a major contract overseas.

UKEF’s guarantee will support a HSBC bank loan to the Norwegian firm, DOF Subsea AS, to enable it to buy six underwater oil and gas exploration vehicles.

UKEF has ensured an ongoing relationship between the two companies as a result of the £20m boost.

Forum Energy Technologies (UK) will continue to be linked to a firm with a large fleet of sophisticated vessels, dive systems and remotely-operated vehicles, and the leading providers of subsea services to the oil and gas industry.

Commenting on the deal, David Havelock, UK Export Finance chief executive, said: “The Government is determined to help UK businesses of all sizes to win contracts overseas.

“In the case of Forum Energy Technologies, its customer needed a £20 million loan to commit to the deal.

“We were able to provide a guarantee to its bank, which was then able to approve the loan. As a result, FET secured a significant new contract.

“This deal shows that securing business overseas is for all companies, not just the large corporate brands.

“This was the second FET transaction that UKEF has supported in the past 12 months and we are currently considering support for another.”

The commercial manager at Forum Energy Technologies, Simone Pizzolato, said: “The availability of UK Export Finance support is essential and has definitely increased our ability to bid and win export contracts in new and developing markets.

“The process is normally quite straightforward and smooth thanks to the cooperation and expertise of the UK Export Finance team.”

Jan Nore, Executive Vice President of DOF Subsea, commented: “Forum Subsea Technologies Ltd has a proven track record with providing us with high quality reliable ROV systems.

“UK Export Finance support made continuing that relationship possible through its support for this transaction.”

UKEF’s guarantee was secured through a Buyer Credit scheme, available for export contracts from £5m to over £100m and can help large, medium and smaller firms with overseas business.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Miranda Dobson .