Newable gains accreditation under UK Export Finance’s GEF programme

GEF was launched in December 2020 and was first available in March 2021, designed to provide exporting SMEs access to working capital and support them through their COVID-19 recovery journey.

Announced today (Tuesday, December 7) by Minister for Exports, Mike Freer, at the annual UK Trade and Export Finance Forum, over £120 million worth of loans have now been issued to UK exporters using the scheme, which has made UKEF’s support more flexible and accessible for SMEs who have previously struggled to receive export specific funding.

Minister for Exports, Mike Freer (pictured) said: “The General Export Facility (GEF) introduced last year has been a remarkable success. Since the facility was made available in March, more than £120 million of UKEF backed finance has been issued, boosting businesses in sectors from online retail to renewable energy.”

“GEF is a fantastic proposition for businesses looking to grow and export but we need to make sure more businesses access it. That’s why I am pleased to announce that Newable has become the first non-bank lender accredited to the scheme.”

Newable specialises in supporting smaller SMEs gain the tools they need to successfully export and sees the addition of export funding as a key building block in supporting UK SMEs grow. Through the new accreditation, Newable will be providing working capital facilities of up to £150,000 to exporting businesses. Uniquely, Newable’s facilities can be used to support both new contract wins, or to provide additional working capital to exporting businesses.

To be eligible for support, businesses must meet several criteria including showing that in any one of the last three financial years, at least 20% of annual turnover has been made up of UK export sales or that in each of the last three financial years, at least 5% of annual turnover has been made up of UK export sales.

Carl Williamson, Head of Trade Finance at UK Export Finance, said: “We launched the General Export Facility to offer much more flexible support to small businesses to support their export journey. It’s great to have Newable join the list of established lenders already issuing GEF facilities. By adding non-bank lenders and alternative finance providers to the scheme we can help even more SME exporters use our guarantee and secure general working capital to help them export.”

Philip Reynolds, MD - Lending at Newable, commented: “Being the first non-bank to be accredited under the GEF scheme is a huge step forward in improving smaller businesses’ access to funding to support export growth. With around 1 in 10 UK SMEs currently exporting, there is a huge opportunity to continue to develop the UK’s export capability.”

Chris Manson, Newable CEO, adds: “Newable has successfully delivered the International Trade Advice service on behalf of the government for the last 15 years and we have used this accumulated knowledge and ongoing support from UKEF to develop an SME export funding product which is both unique and has the potential to help many UK SMEs.”