UK export financing expansion

In late June 2026 the UK Export Finance (UKEF) agency launched a £50 billion Defence Export Fund, raising overall export‑finance capacity to £130 billion. The fund guarantees loans for British defence exporters and finances foreign purchases of UK‑made military equipment, targeting contracts such as air‑defence systems for Poland and Ukraine and submarine‑rescue vessels for Indonesia. A week and a half later the Treasury announced a £2 billion package for small and medium‑size enterprises. The Growth Guarantee Scheme was upgraded to cover up to 70 % of loans up to £2 million and to extend loan terms, unlocking additional financing through 2028/29. A joint guarantee scheme between UKEF and the British Business Bank is slated for spring 2027 to provide portfolio‑level guarantees for lower‑value working‑capital loans to export‑oriented SMEs. On 11 July 2026 Chancellor Rachel Reeves detailed further reforms, adding £2 billion of annual financing for SMEs and raising total programme support to £3.35 billion per year. The scheme now guarantees 70 % of loans up to £2 million, extends terms to ten years for amounts up to £1.1 million, and raises the turnover eligibility threshold to £54 million, opening the scheme to an estimated 12 000 additional businesses each year – roughly 20 000 in total. The package also introduces a £500 million ENABLE Guarantee for innovative, IP‑rich SMEs, a £10 million philanthropic contribution to community‑development finance institutions, and a target to free £1 billion of community‑finance lending over five years. In the days that followed, Treasury officials reiterated the same expansion, confirming the £2 billion annual boost, the £500 million ENABLE allocation and the joint UKEF‑British Business Bank export‑finance scheme scheduled for launch in spring 2027.