Scottish exporters secure £79m in overseas sales

One of the Scottish companies benefiting from UKEF support this year was famous Scottish bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis based in Falkirk.

UKEF provided a UK government-backed guarantee to Alexander Dennis’ Mexican buyer, supporting the export of 90 low emission ‘London’ red buses to Mexico City worth 1 billion Mexican Pesos (£44 million) – and jobs across the Scottish company’s Falkirk and Guildford sites.

Colin Robertson, Chief Executive of Alexander Dennis said:

“Our ability to offer finance from UK Export Finance in Mexican Pesos was a significant benefit to our buyer, helping us win this major contract.”

This year, UKEF provided £2.5 billion of support for UK exporters. This helped 191 companies sell to 75 markets around the world, 77% of which were small and medium-sized businesses.

Baroness Fairhead, Minister of State for Trade and Export Promotion said: “UKEF’s results for 2017-18 once again show that when companies take advantage of its support, the effects on their business can be transformative. By providing innovative and flexible finance and insurance, the government is helping British businesses, big and small, realise the value they bring to the international marketplace.

“The range of exports supported by UKEF demonstrates that the UK’s exporters have a truly world-class export credit agency behind them – and that’s why the government’s forthcoming Export Strategy will deliver on our commitment to put UKEF at the heart of trade promotion.”

Jon Boyce, senior export finance manager for Scotland, said: “From specialist guidance to flexible finance, it is UKEF’s ambition to provide the best possible support for UK companies seeking to grow their business by selling overseas.

“From working with multinationals to bring business to the UK, to providing safe routes to export and financial support for smaller businesses, these results show that we are delivering on that ambition.”

The results show that UKEF has supported £4.1 billion in export contracts through its trade finance products since 2011, which were introduced to help smaller businesses to export.

UKEF was also awarded ‘best export credit agency 2017’ by Global Trade Review magazine and Euromoney’s Trade Finance.

To see if finance and insurance from UKEF could give you an exporting edge, search online for ‘UKEF’.