HSBC increases Ooni’s UKEF-backed working-capital facility by 67% to £10m

Scottish cooking-products company Ooni has increased its HSBC UK credit facility from £6m to £10m with support from UK Export Finance, giving the exporter an additional £4m of financing headroom as it expands internationally.

The 67 per cent increase was disclosed on 12 November alongside UK Export Finance’s first Scotland Business Forum in Edinburgh.

The government-backed facility is intended to provide Ooni with flexible working-capital capacity as it develops sales across North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.

Ooni, founded in 2012, has grown from a crowdfunding-backed business into an international brand specialising in outdoor cooking equipment. It employs more than 230 people globally, including 167 in the UK, and is recruiting for eight further UK-based positions.

The increase illustrates how export credit support can assist companies whose international sales growth creates financing requirements before customer payments are received.

Exporters may need to commit cash to manufacturing, inventory, international transport and distribution well ahead of final settlement from overseas customers. As sales expand across several markets, those requirements can grow even when the underlying business remains profitable.

A larger working-capital facility can provide a buffer against such timing differences and reduce the risk that short-term liquidity constraints prevent a company from fulfilling orders.

The arrangement also demonstrates the role of a government export-credit guarantee in supporting commercial bank lending.

HSBC UK is providing the finance, while UK Export Finance is guaranteeing the arrangement. That means the publicly backed institution supports the bank’s exposure rather than necessarily lending the full £10m directly to Ooni.

The announcement did not disclose the guarantee percentage, pricing, maturity, security arrangements or amount already drawn. The increased facility limit therefore should not be interpreted as £10m of fresh cash received by the company.

Andrew Brown, Ooni’s chief financial officer, attributed HSBC’s decision to extend the credit line to the company’s improved profitability in 2025 and underlying balance-sheet resilience.

UK Export Finance said the agreement formed part of its wider effort to improve exporters’ access to funding through commercial banking partners.

The agency provided more than £11bn in loans, guarantees and insurance during its last financial year, according to figures released alongside the Ooni announcement.

For lenders, the transaction offers a relatively straightforward example of how an export-credit guarantee can expand an established corporate borrowing relationship without requiring a separate financing structure for each international market.