UK Export Finance and the Civil Aerospace Sector
This page provides answers to frequently asked questions in relation to UK Export Finance and the civil aerospace sector.
Q. UK Export Finance just focuses its support on civil aerospace, doesn’t it?
Far from it; over the last year we have supported businesses in the automotive, construction, electricity, healthcare, industrial processing, oil and gas, petrochemical, water treatment, and satellite sectors alongside our support for civil aerospace. A number of these businesses were SMEs.
Q. If that is the case, what were the reasons for 90% of your business being aerospace in 2009-10?
It was unusual that 90% of UK Export Finance support for new business in 2009-10 was support for this sector. This was due largely to the economic downturn, which led to many civil projects being delayed or cancelled and Airbus being unable to attract sufficient finance from commercial sources to fulfil contracts with specific delivery dates that would otherwise have incurred penalties for delay. To demonstrate how unusual these levels were, when balanced with our business levels for the past eight years, aerospace has typically been about 46% of our total business.
Q. Is this the same with other export credit agencies?
It is. By way of comparison, the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EX-IM Bank), the USA’s export credit agency, saw a similar increase in its support for Boeing over the same period.
Q. So what are the plans for the future?
In terms of support for the civil aerospace sector, we expect a return to roughly pre-downturn levels, but due to such factors as the political situation in the Middle East and North Africa regions, and new aircraft types, request for support from the sector may still remain slightly higher than before the downturn.
Q. Will this make way for more support in other sectors?
It will. UK Export Finance launched four new products in 2011, specifically designed for the SME market though available for all exporters. We have been actively promoting these products at events across the UK since their launch and have engaged with over 6000 companies so far. It is, however, important to remember, that when supporting the aerospace industry UK Export Finance is also indirectly supporting the hundreds of companies throughout the aerospace supply chain across the UK.
