There is a “wealth of opportunity” for UK businesses to export overseas, with British expertise and products in “high demand”.
This was the message from UK Export Finance (UKEF) chief executive, Tim Reid, to assembled trade professionals at the Chartered Institute of Export & International Trade’s Import Export Show.
He went on to explain the role his organisation plays in supporting UK businesses and offered advice for firms considering selling overseas.
‘Wealth of opportunity’
While acknowledging the challenges of finding export opportunities, and noting that there can be “barriers” to clinching them when they do arise, Reid said British businesses should be encouraged by the opportunities available.
He said that there’s a “wealth of opportunity” for UK businesses that are very “geographically widespread”. He added:
“There’s a real interest in what the UK has to offer, in buying British, and this is across a range of sectors.”
UKEF’s role
Reid said that the organisation works to ensure that “access to finance”, one of the biggest barriers to seizing export opportunities, isn’t a deterrent to UK firms, adding that the agency’s aim is to ensure “no viable UK export fails for lack of finance or insurance”.
“We want to make sure UK businesses have the chance to participate in and prosper from important projects around the world.”
Through a range of financing products, UKEF is able to “take some of the risk” out of “taking the leap overseas”.
Operating in 61 countries worldwide, the credit agency has provided £8.8bn support for UK companies. Reid added that this had supported 41,000 jobs across the country.
Supporting regional economic growth
Reid highlighted how those jobs are widespread throughout the UK and support regional economic growth.
He said that, growing up in the North East of England, he “saw how important trade is to the economy”.
“Without trade flowing through the heart of the economy, people suffer.”
Reflecting on the support UKEF had provided to an East Yorkshire steel company, enabling it to participate in a project in Guyana, he said “real impact on communities in the UK and overseas”.
Collaboration
He also discussed the role that UKEF had played in his home region. Last month, the credit agency announced financing agreements to support a project in Tees Valley, collaborating with South Korean credit agency to secure financing for a project in Redcar.
Thanks to this financing, South Korean investor SeAH Wind UK, has committed to invest £225m in a new wind tech factory. It’s expected that the project will create 750 jobs by 2027.
Elsewhere, UKEF has also contributed to £1bn in government investment which will convert Deeside’s Shotton Mill into the UK’s largest paper-recycling plant. This will safeguard 147 jobs and is predicted to create a further 220.
Green focus
The emphasis on sustainability was also emphasised through its commitment to green energy projects. Reid highlighted that UKEF has provided £10bn in funding to support the growth of UK renewable energy.
The agency was present at last month’s UN Climate Conference (COP29), with a government press release announcing that it had signed agreements designed to promote the decarbonisation of export finance.
Alongside other export credit agencies, UKEF has committed to a set of protocols that will support export finance organisations to meet their net zero targets.
The press release goes on to highlight that UKEF was the first export credit agency to include natural disaster clauses in its products, as well as the first to adopt the Taskforce on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations and publish the emissions produced by the projects it finances.
Supply chain security
In addition to supporting renewable energy projects, Reid highlighted the organisation’s role in protecting supply chains that provide the UK with critical minerals needed in the manufacturing of products needed for the green transition:
“Those that are vital for the UK’s economic growth and security and our industrial strategy and the green energy transition.”
In October, UKEF was given the green light to finance overseas projects that will supply the UK with critical minerals needed in sectors including emerging technology and green energy.
Credit guarantees will be made available for projects sourcing minerals like lithium, graphite and cobalt, which are needed to manufacture goods underpinning the green transition, such as solar panels, wind turbines and electric vehicle components.
Product launch
In response to a question from ITV journalist and event host Nina Hossain, he explained how a new UKEF product has been designed to support British firms that provide engineering, design and technical services.
Reiterating the demand for UK goods and service, he said that British firms are “already seen as experts” in these areas, meaning their top of the list for many infrastructure projects.
The UKEF product provides the overseas buyer with up to two years of project financing, enabling them to procure those UK services in advance of construction.
It also facilitates refinancing once the project is off the ground.
Advice
Asked what advice he would give to businesses considering exporting, he said to reach out and ask for advice: “Help us understand your ambitions and we’ll see where we can help”.
“We want to help as many people as possible… and encourage you to be ambitious and explore what’s out there.”
He also told attendees to make the most of the Import Export Show, describing it as an “exciting opportunity to converse, connect and collaborate”.
