UKEF lifts fast-track export finance threshold 50% to £15m

UK Export Finance (UKEF) plans to increase the amount participating banks can automatically provide under its General Export Facility (GEF) from £10m to £15m, a 50% increase intended to accelerate access to government-backed working capital for British exporters.

The change, announced alongside the UK Budget on 28 October, would allow participating lenders to support larger facilities without seeking transaction-specific approval from the export credit agency.

UKEF also intends to widen the scheme’s eligibility requirements, bringing more businesses within reach of export-linked finance, including smaller companies and those beginning to develop overseas sales.

The General Export Facility is designed to help eligible exporters access financing for general business purposes, rather than restricting support to a single overseas contract.

That flexibility matters for manufacturers and other businesses that must purchase materials, finance production, retain inventory and pay employees before receiving cash from international customers.

By increasing delegated lending authority, UKEF is seeking to reduce approval friction for banks considering eligible borrowers whose working-capital requirements exceed the existing £10m threshold.

The announced £15m figure is an approval threshold, not evidence that individual businesses have received new loans of that size. The change also remains subject to implementation with participating lenders; UKEF has not presented it as an immediately completed expansion of every existing facility.

The revised scheme comes as businesses continue to face pressure from operating costs, payment terms and the capital required to enter new export markets.

Theo Chatha, Chief Financial Officer of Bibby Financial Services, described the wider Budget as a “bare minimum Budget” for small businesses.

He argued that manufacturers, construction firms, wholesalers, hauliers and service businesses continued to face a heavy tax burden, while increases in statutory wage rates would add to employment costs already affected by the previous rise in employer National Insurance contributions.

His comments underline a distinction between improved access to credit and the underlying profitability of prospective borrowers. A larger government-backed financing facility can provide liquidity, but it does not by itself reverse higher business costs or weak demand.

For participating lenders, the proposed GEF changes could enlarge the range of export-related working-capital transactions they can process under delegated authority.

For exporters, the commercial benefit will depend on the final eligibility rules, lenders’ credit decisions and how quickly the changes are introduced.