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Small and medium-sized businesses

Supercharge your exports with government-backed finance.

A man and woman speaking in a factory.

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 loans for your business from as little as £26,000 with our guarantee.

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.