Export support investments announced

This included support for the assembling of 250 bridges in Sri Lanka and the delivery of two satellites to Turksat in Turkey.

UKEF provided £49 million worth of support for Darlington-based firm Cleveland Bridge to construct 250 bridges for rural Sri Lankan communities. This project has been designed to accelerate Sri Lanka’s development through improvements in its rural transport infrastructure. Families and businesses will benefit directly from the project, which will reduce the distance people need to travel to reach essential services such as healthcare and education, as well as bringing rural communities closer together by cutting transport costs and improve access to markets.

UKEF also supported an Airbus Defence and Space Ltd UK contract with Turksat, the Turkish communications satellite operator. Airbus will manufacture and deliver, in orbit, two telecom satellites and a ground station, which will be essential for the continued provision of TV and data services in Turkey and the wider region. UKEF is providing a guarantee to support a loan of $325 million to the Turkish Ministry of Treasury and Finance to enable the purchase.

UKEF’s annual report and accounts show the department has had a landmark year, providing £6.8 billion in support for UK exports, a record since 1991*. Analysis shows that these exports have supported an estimated 47,000 UK full time jobs as demand for British goods across the globe continues to grow. 

Rt Hon. Dr Liam Fox MP, Secretary of State for International Trade, said: “Over the course of the last 100 years UK Export Finance has led the way in delivering innovative finance to help British companies achieve international success across a wide range of industries across the world. 

“I am delighted UKEF is marking its centenary with a record year, and as it continues into its second century is supporting not only the UK’s exporters, which are growing in number all the time, but also transformational projects which have a direct impact on the lives of citizens across the globe.

The report reveals that UKEF has supported 181 companies' exports to 72 countries. 79% of these companies were SMEs. A further 81 UK companies secured business by supplying to a project supported by UKEF.

During the year UKEF supported its largest ever transaction, providing a £5 billion package to support BAE Systems’ and MBDA UK’s contract with the government of Qatar. It also connected more than 300 companies with opportunities on overseas projects, and provided over £600 million in support for projects in sub-Saharan Africa as the Government looks to boost trade links between the UK and African countries.