Government supports Yorkshire and Humber exporters for £13m of sales overseas

UK Export Finance (UKEF), the UK’s export credit agency, provided nearly £2m in support for £13m of exports in Yorkshire and the Humber from April 2015-March 2016.

UKEF’s annual report and accounts, published today, show that the department has supported the largest number of exporters in 25 years in 2015/16 across the UK, with a 23% increase since last year.

77% of the exporters that benefited from finance and insurance from UKEF were SMEs, and an estimated 7,000 companies in exporter supply chains also indirectly benefited.

Companies supported include West Yorkshire’s Wyedean Weaving, a 160-year-old supplier of uniforms and accessories that exports to 60 countries worldwide.

When the Bronte Country-based company won contracts to supply textile badges for United Nations (UN) peacekeepers’ uniforms, it was asked to provide a performance guarantee from its bank, which would have reduced the funding available for other business activities.

With the benefit of a guarantee under UK Export Finance Bond Support Scheme, Natwest was able to issue the performance bond without restricting the funding available to the business.

Robin Wright, managing director of Wyedean, said: “Without UKEF’s support, we would have had difficulty fulfilling these contracts, and may have turned away a customer. Working with Natwest and UKEF meant that we were able to access the finance we needed to sell to the UN and increase our revenue by £1.2m over the next 3 years.”

Paul Wright, export finance adviser for Yorkshire & the Humber, added: “UKEF is here to help make exports happen. Our support for companies like Wyedean Weaving in Yorkshire and the Humber shows how we can help UK businesses realise their ambitions to grow by selling overseas.”

Lord Price, Minister for Trade and Investment, welcomed the results, saying: “Exporting can help businesses grow – and grow fast. That means more jobs, more profits, more tax revenue and more benefit to society.

“By providing its innovative support to more exporters than ever before, UKEF is helping to make exports happen, playing a vital role in the whole-of-government push for 100,000 new exporters by 2020.”

Louis Taylor, UKEF’s Chief Executive Officer, commented: “UK Export Finance’s mission is to ensure that no viable UK export should fail for lack of finance or insurance from the private sector.

“This year’s results show that we are making significant progress in reaching a wider customer base. We will continue to be innovative and flexible, anticipating the needs of exporters and finding ways to meet them.”

This announcement comes a year into the Exporting is GREAT campaign, the government’s drive to empower 100,000 new companies to sell overseas by 2020.

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