UKEF is the UK government's export credit agency and provides free advice to businesses looking to finance their overseas trade.
UKEF offers loans, guarantees and insurance to help businesses export. This UK Government department can also connect exporters with private lenders who are able to support their needs, ensuring that SMEs do not lose the opportunity for private finance before they approach the Government. A Scottish firm selling specialist machinery has won an export contract worth £1.1 million thanks to support from UK Export Finance (UKEF). New funding is available for SMEs and manufacturers looking to export, with £8.8bn of funding supported by UKEF last year.
RAM Engineering, a specialist machinery distributor based in Angus, Scotland, faced a cash flow problem after one of its suppliers demanded a change in payment terms: a problem faced by many small businesses.
After RAM approached UKEF, UKEF recommended lender White Oak UK to the firm as a possible source of funding to help bridge the gap. Once White Oak UK agreed a short-term funding package of £100,000, RAM was able to accept its supplier's new payment terms and close a deal worth £1.1 million with the global company.
In recent years, up to 20 % of RAM's annual revenue has been exported abroad. The business continues to grow, focusing on markets such as France, USA, UAE and South Africa.
Lara McGrath, UKEF's Export Finance Manager, said, "UK Export Finance exists to ensure businesses have access to the right finance for selling abroad. As well as directly supporting exporters, we can also help them to forge new relationships, understand their opportunities and take advantage of the full range of private trade finance available. This deal is a great example of that."
Ross A. Milne, director of RAM Engineering, said: "Working with large international customers can be very complex. Working with White Oak and UKEF has not only offered a route to funding, but also provided the security that only solid and well-known financial institutions can provide."
White Oak UK specialises in providing capital to SMEs and mid-sized companies. The lender was founded in 1968 and now has a team of nearly 200 specialists working with SMEs across Europe. It is able to create bespoke financing plans for SMEs, including asset finance, development and operating loans, invoice finance, asset-based lending and supply chain and trade finance.
Graham Vance, principal consultant at White Oak UK, said, "White Oak UK provides financial services in the area of loan finance. Our loan to RAM Engineering demonstrates our commitment to providing growth capital across all sectors and regions in the UK to both existing and new clients. We are encouraged by the involvement of organisations such as UK Export Finance in helping to grow the UK economy with businesses such as RAM Engineering."
In July, UKEF published its results for the 2023-24 financial year, showing that it provided a total of £8.8 billion of new finance last year, helping 650 UK companies to export. This supported up to 41,000 jobs and a contribution to national GDP of up to £3.3 billion.
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