UK Export Finance delivers record support for businesses

UK Export Finance provided a record £14.5 billion in new financing in 2024-25, supporting over 650 UK companies to grow by selling overseas.

The export credit agency, working alongside the Department for Business and Trade, provided the highest level of support in its 106-year history in 2024-25 to help 667 UK firms break into international markets.

UKEF’s efforts to champion UK exporters supported up to 70,000 jobs including in key industrial sectors like clean energy industries, advanced manufacturing, life sciences and automotive which are central to the government’s Modern Industrial Strategy. Overall, UKEF’s financing in the year backed the contribution of up to £5.4 billion (GDP) to the economy.

Smaller firms also remain central to UKEF’s mission to boost exports. The department supported 496 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in 2024/25, of which 83% are based outside of London.  

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, said:?

“Our number one mission is delivering growth to put more money in people’s pockets.

“That’s why we increased UKEF’s lending capacity by billions and have given?more flexibility to invest in priority sectors like defence, building on its record levels of support for businesses to export and grow, and the tens of thousands of jobs it has secured.“

UK Export Finance CEO, Tim Reid, said:

“I’m proud of our record-breaking year in which we’ve achieved real impact by forging new strategic global partnerships, boosting hundreds of exporters and supporting tens of thousands of jobs. 

“With customers at the heart of everything we do, we’re committed through our ambitious business plan to helping more British exporters firms succeed globally.  

“We’ve strengthened our products and supported more small businesses too – spreading the benefits of trade across the entire UK. 

“As we continue in our mission, we’re eager to play a key role in supporting the Industrial and Trade Strategies to drive sustainable economic growth.“

Marcus Dolman, Vice President of The British Exporters Association (BExA), said:

“BExA congratulates UKEF on their strong, record-breaking results. They show continued growth in both value and reach to the UK’s exporting community, particularly in the increased number of SMEs supported. The record level of support shows the value UKEF adds to the UK economy through its proactive approach in bringing new and genuinely useful products to market such as the Export Development Guarantee (EDG) and the General Export Facility (GEF).

“HMG’s increase in UKEF’s overall capacity is also a welcome development and demonstrates the importance of UKEF in supporting UK economic growth through increased exports. We need to get more UK businesses exporting and access to finance is often a critical enabler.

“We look forward to continuing to support UKEF in defining and refining its product range to ensure UK export success and that no viable export fails through lack of finance.“