Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds has announced an expansion of government-backed export finance intended to give smaller firms faster access to working capital.
Participating lenders will be able to provide up to £15 million through UK Export Finance's General Export Facility without seeking approval for each individual transaction. The existing automatic limit is £10 million.
Eligibility for the facility will also be widened. The changes are designed to help firms fund orders, invest in production and compete overseas, although the finance remains subject to lenders' assessments and scheme rules.
The Budget also increases UKEF's capacity for Ukraine by £3 billion, taking its cover limit from £3.5 billion to £6.5 billion. That is underwriting capacity for potential projects, not £3 billion of immediate expenditure.
Existing UK-backed work has included air-defence missiles, nuclear fuel, bridge reconstruction using British steel and former Royal Navy mine-countermeasure vessels. Further proposals will still need to satisfy UKEF requirements.
Reynolds said the expansion would allow British businesses to contribute to Ukraine's defence, energy resilience and reconstruction. Participating lenders must now implement the higher automatic limit before firms can use it.
