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Small and medium-sized businesses
Supercharge your exports with government-backed finance.
To realise your export ambitions, you may need to access finance or insurance. This could be for cash to deliver your orders, or for protection against the risks of exporting to international markets.
Over 80% of the businesses we support are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) so we understand the challenges you may face when securing finance to export. Read about the top challenges for exporters and how to address them from Elizabeth McCrory, our Senior Export Finance Manager for Northern Ireland.
How does UK Export Finance support work?
To access certain export finance facilities, your lender may require collateral, which can tie up your business’s cashflow. Or your lender may not have the risk appetite to provide you with the types of financing you need.
Through our guarantee schemes, we work with you and your lender to guarantee their risk – increasing their appetite to provide you with export finance facilities, including loans. This means more cash for your business to win export contracts and deliver orders.
You may also be seeking insurance to protect your business against the risk of not getting paid but find that you’re unable to secure cover. This could be because you’re exporting to a high-risk country or the value of your contract is too low. If you can’t secure insurance from the private market, we may be able to help – there’s no minimum value for our Export Insurance Policy and we can provide cover for even high-risk markets.
How can I get finance?
If you’re ready to export but need to secure financing, get in touch with us. We can help you understand what support may be available to your business. Export finance facilities can include insurance, loans and guarantees. Our products and services complement the private sector offer, so could fill any gaps in the financing that the private sector is able to provide you.
We work with over 100 private sector partners, including all major UK banks, as well as a nation-wide network of insurance brokers and other finance specialists. We also work with lenders like Newable who are able to support working capital facilities of up to £300,000.
When you apply for export finance facilities, your lender will undertake due diligence activities to ensure the laws and regulations of financial crime compliance are followed. Read our guidance on financial crime obligations for SMEs so that you’re prepared with the information required. When you apply for UK Export Finance support, our Export Finance Managers will help you prepare your application, and advise you as to the information you’ll need to provide.
Tell us about your export plans
Once you’ve got an idea of what finance or insurance you need, get in touch with us. Our Export Finance Managers can provide free guidance on UK Export Finance support, or signpost you to a private sector partner who may be able to help.
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General Export Facility 
Access trade finance facilities up to £25 million with our guarantee through the General Export Facility.
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Export Insurance Policy
Get cover for up to 95% of potential losses through our Export Insurance Policy.
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Expert Guidance
Get expert and impartial guidance for your business from our Export Finance Managers.