gov.uk business plans

Tell us whether you accept cookies

We use cookies to collect information about how you use this site. We use this information to make the website work as well as possible and improve our services.

Help to start-up

There are over 5.5m businesses in the UK. If you’re ready to join them, we can help. Check what you need to do to set up your business and how to get help from government-backed schemes.

1. Register your business

Follow our guidance and set up your business . This includes:

Rules for your type of business
Responsibilities hiring freelance or agency support

2. Write a business plan

Get detailed information on how to write your business plan and download free business plan templates .

3. Get help with tax

If you’re starting a business, you’ll need to understand what tax you may have to pay. Check out the guidance , which covers some helpful topics below

Hiring an accountant or tax adviser
Check tax code guidance

4. Check your finance options

You could be eligible for a government backed Start Up Loan of £500 to £25,000 to start or grow your business.

Seaweed & Co applied for a government-backed Start Up Loan which allowed the business to expand into markets in Europe and North America.

“Having the support from Start Up Loans, as a government-backed programme, gave me the confidence to believe in myself and fully make the move to become my own boss.”

Dr Craig Rose, Founder Seaweed & Co.

Your free finance guide to help you get started

The British Business Bank’s finance guide is designed to help you make an informed choice about accessing the right type of finance for your business, whether you’re looking to start-up, scale or grow your business.

Employing people

If you’re looking to employ people for the first time there’s several things you’ll need to consider. We’ve made it easy for you through this helpful checklist .

If you’re looking to employ more people, check out the support available .

Free resources and network to start or develop your business

The British Library’s Business and IP Centre network supports small business owners, entrepreneurs and inventors to take the right steps to start up, protect and grow their business. The National Network is delivered through regional and local libraries around Britain, offering insights and access to free resources, training and events to help you imagine, start or develop your business.

Help and advice

Contact the Business Support Helpline for general advice and support and speak to someone over the phone or online.

Or find out how your local growth hub can help you with advice and support at any stage of your business journey.

Cookies on Companies House services

We use some essential cookies to make our services work.

We'd also like to use analytics cookies so we can understand how you use our services and to make improvements.

You've accepted analytics cookies. You can change your cookie settings at any time.

You've rejected analytics cookies. You can change your cookie settings at any time.

We use cookies to make our services work and collect analytics information. To accept or reject analytics cookies, turn on JavaScript in your browser settings and reload this page.

Search the register

Enter company name, number or officer name

Please press ENTER to search

Current features include

File abridged or full accounts New
Change a registered office address
View company data and document images
Search for disqualified directors
Order certificates and certified documents New
Follow companies

Planned features

Other document filings

Other useful tools

Company name availability checker Link opens in new window
Alphabetical company search Link opens in new window New
Dissolved company search Link opens in new window New

You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser to improve your experience.

For business
For advisors
For brokers
For vendors
For bookkeepers

Agricultural Transition Plan

Page written by AI. Reviewed internally on May 17, 2024.

The Agricultural Transition Plan (ATP) outlines the government’s strategy for improving agricultural policy following the country’s departure from the European Union.

What is the Agricultural Transition Plan?

This transition plan is a significant shift in how farmers are supported and how agricultural land is managed. The purpose of the Agricultural Transition Plan is to support farmers in increasing productivity, improving resilience to climate change, and promoting biodiversity while ensuring fair economic returns.

One of the key features of the ATP is its focus on environmental responsibility. The plan includes measures to encourage farmers to adopt sustainable farming practices, such as agroforestry, organic farming, and soil conservation. Funding will be allocated for projects that improve water quality, improve biodiversity, and reduce climate change.

The ATP encourages the adoption of innovative technologies and practices to improve productivity and efficiency in agriculture. This includes support for research and development , investment in agricultural infrastructure, and the promotion of precision farming techniques.

Knowing the challenges that farmers may face during this transition period, the ATP includes provisions for financial assistance, training, and advisory services. Farming communities will be supported in adapting to the changes and getting new opportunities from the shift in agricultural policy.

The development of the ATP involves consultation with stakeholders, including farmers, environmental organisations, and industry representatives. Collaboration between the government and these stakeholders is important to make sure the transition plan reflects the diverse interests and priorities of the agricultural sector .

Pub mortgage

How to find investors for your business

How to find angel investors

R&D: Why it pays to work with Swoop

Clever finance tips and the latest news

delivered to your inbox, every week

Join the 70,000+ businesses just like yours getting the Swoop newsletter.

Free. No spam. Opt out whenever you like.

By subscribing, I accept the privacy-policy and I give my consent to receive Swoop Funding e-mails about the latest updates and offers.

We work with world class partners to help us support businesses with finance

18 Soho Square, W1D 3QH, London, UK

Suite 42, 4th Floor, Oriel Chambers, 14 Water Street, Liverpool, L2 8TD

Kingfisher Way, Silverlink Business Park, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE28 9NX, UK

Suite 105A, Airivo, 18 Bennetts Hill, Birmingham, B2 5QJ

Aberystwyth

Aberystwyth Innovation and Enterprise Campus Gogerddan Campus Aberystwyth University Ceredigion SY23 3EE

Dogpatch Labs, The CHQ Building, Custom House Quay, Dublin, Ireland

Suite 801, Level 8, 84 Pitt Street, Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia

180 John St, Toronto, ON M5T 1X5, Canada

43 W 23rd St, New York, NY 10010, United States

21 Dreyer Street, Cape Town, South Africa, 7708

Join the 70,000+ businesses just like yours getting the Swoop newsletter. Free. No spam. Opt out whenever you like.

Choose the platform

UK Edition Change

UK Politics
News Videos
Paris 2024 Olympics
Rugby Union
Sport Videos
John Rentoul
Mary Dejevsky
Andrew Grice
Sean O’Grady
Photography
Theatre & Dance
Culture Videos
Fitness & Wellbeing
Food & Drink
Health & Families
Royal Family
Electric Vehicles
Car Insurance Deals
Lifestyle Videos
UK Hotel Reviews
News & Advice
Simon Calder
Australia & New Zealand
South America
C. America & Caribbean
Middle East
Politics Explained
News Analysis
Today’s Edition
Home & Garden
Broadband deals
Fashion & Beauty
Travel & Outdoors
Sports & Fitness
Sustainable Living
Climate Videos
Solar Panels
Behind The Headlines
On The Ground
Decomplicated
You Ask The Questions
Binge Watch
Travel Smart
Watch on your TV
Crosswords & Puzzles
Most Commented
Newsletters
Ask Me Anything
Virtual Events
Betting Sites
Online Casinos
Wine Offers

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in Please refresh your browser to be logged in

Heathrow airport hits out over three government policies that are damaging to the UK

The uk’s busiest airport has attacked the need for a transit visa and the removal of tax-free shopping, article bookmarked.

Find your bookmarks in your Independent Premium section, under my profile

Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts

Get simon calder’s travel email, thanks for signing up to the simon calder’s travel email.

Britain’s busiest airport has attacked the government for “curtailing the UK ’s global connectivity” by introducing more red tape for transit passengers and scrapping tax-free shopping .

Announcing its traffic figures for April 2024, Heathrow ’s bosses deplored three specific government policies:

“The introduction of unnecessary visas for transiting passengers.
“The absence of tax-free shopping.
“The recently proposed hike in business rates.”

The airport says ministers should “take a cross-government approach to policymaking that supports UK aviation’s global competitiveness”.

The British government has gone far further than any other nation in demanding that all non-UK passengers in transit through Heathrow – the main hub airport – must obtain an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) in advance.

Not only does this cost an additional £10 on top of the air fare, it also adds a delay of up to three days and extra red tape .

Heathrow’s rivals – Amsterdam , Frankfurt and Paris CDG – have no such hurdles except for a few specific nationalities. They are expected to pick up a significant proportion of Heathrow’s business as a result.

ETAs were first introduced in November 2023 and are currently being enforced for nationals of Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman , the United Arab Emirates , Saudi Arabia and Jordan.

The government says the rollout “will continue throughout 2024”.

A government spokesperson said: “Requiring transit passengers to obtain an Electronic Travel Authorisation ensures we are making the border more secure, and stops people who may use connecting flights to avoid gaining their permission to travel to the UK when they do not have it.

“We are keeping this under review as we continue to roll out the scheme.”

Tax-free shopping and VAT refunds on purchases for visitors to Britain ended on 1 January 2021, the day the UK fully left the EU. They were scrapped by Rishi Sunak, who was chancellor at the time.

Kwasi Kwarteng, chancellor under Liz Truss’s brief premiership, vowed to reinstate them. But this U-turn was itself reversed by his replacement, Jeremy Hunt, when Rishi Sunak became prime minister.

The government spokesperson said: “VAT-free shopping remains available for all non-UK visitors buying items in store and having them sent directly to their overseas address.

“The UK aviation industry is one of the best in the world and we remain committed to supporting airports to boost our global connectivity and grow our economy.”

Heathrow returned to profit last year after suffering heavy losses during the Covid pandemic.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article

Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.

New to The Independent?

Or if you would prefer:

Want an ad-free experience?

Hi {{indy.fullName}}

My Independent Premium
Account details
Help centre

Money blog: Tourist taxes being imposed across Europe (and in UK) - here's how much they all are

An increasing number of cities are either imposing or increasing the cost of tourist taxes on visitors. Read this and our other Weekend Money content below, and let us know your thoughts. We'll be back with live updates on Monday.

Saturday 18 May 2024 17:03, UK

Weekend Money

How to sell your home without an estate agent
Tourist taxes to watch out for in popular holiday destinations
Childcare vouchers, hard work and new skyscrapers: What readers have said this week
Three things you need to know from Money this week

Best of the week

The rise of Michelin starred 'fast food'
How much do buskers make?
Basically... What is PIP - and what could government changes mean?
How to make sure your car passes its MOT
Money Problem : My workplace wants to pay us by the minute - what can I do?
Best of the Money blog - an archive

Ask a question or make a comment

As we've been reporting in the Money blog over the last few months, an increasing number of cities are either imposing or increasing the cost of tourist taxes on visitors.

Many say they are preventing damages from overtourism, as well as funding local infrastructure and businesses.

Here are the latest tourist fees for the most popular spots in Europe...

Tourists visiting Venice for the day will have to pay a €5 entry fee to enter the city between the hours of 8.30am and 4pm.

Meanwhile, those staying overnight in Venice are charged a fee between €1 to €5 within the accommodation price for the first five consecutive nights.

People visiting the Spanish city now have to pay €3.25 if they're staying in official accommodation, up from €2.75.

Manchester

Visitors must pay £1 per room, per night across 73 hotels.

The scheme, which has raised more than £2m within a year, is for improvements to attract more tourists.

Tourists must pay €2 per person for every night they stay, although this is only applied for a maximum of seven nights.

The Greek government has introduced a Climate Crisis Resilience Fee to charge tourists anywhere from €0.50 to €10 per room, per night.

The amount depends on the hotel category and the time of year.

Visitors to the Croatian city must pay €2.65 per person, per night throughout April to September.

However, the fee has been temporarily reduced to €1.86 for the rest of this year.

Different amounts are charged depending on the type of accommodation.

The most expensive charge is €14.95 for a stay in palaces, and €0.65 at one or two-star campsites, per person, per night.

Those staying in a typical four-star hotel are charged around €8.

Those staying in the Hungarian capital are charged an additional 4% each night, which is calculated based on the price of the room.

Tourists in Berlin must pay 5% of the room price, excluding VAT and service fees.

The tourist tax here has increased from €0.82 to €1.97 per day.

Prices researched by travel insurance site Quotezone.co.uk

By Ollie Cooper , Money team

Estate agent fees are one of the big expenses in selling a house - but rule changes and the rise of private sale websites have made it more common for people to go it alone.

But how easy is it - and what do you need to know? We spoke to industry experts to find out.

Firstly, what do estate agents do for their money?

An estate agent will typically charge in the range of 1%-3.5% of the sale price.

That means for the average house price (£284,691 from December) you could pay anywhere from £2,846 to £9,964 in commission fees.

"When you use an estate agent, their fee includes taking professional photographs, advertising your home, conducting property viewings, and negotiating a price on your behalf," says Jack Smithson from the home ownership site Better.co.uk .

In addition, an estate agent will compile comprehensive details of your house, including room sizes and descriptions of fixtures and fittings.

"They will also provide a concise write-up about the local area, highlighting amenities, schools, and transportation links," Jack adds.

And they'll conduct checks on buyers for you (more on this later).

It sounds like a lot, but...

"Selling your home yourself can be a manageable process with a few key steps," Jack says.

Preparation

You should begin by thoroughly researching house prices in your area, using websites like Rightmove and Zoopla - but seek free valuations from local estate agents to ensure you have a realistic asking price in mind.

Next, you want to take high-quality photos of your house.

Jack advises using tutorials on YouTube to learn new shooting and editing techniques that can take you to the next level.

You then want to write down what makes your home unique.

"While browsing other listings for inspiration, take it a step further by emphasising what you love about living in your home and the surrounding area," Jack suggests.

"Whether it's the refreshing scent of the coastline or the tranquil sounds of village life, incorporating these details can help potential buyers visualise living there," he advises.

Like using YouTube for photography tips, you can use free tools such as ChatGPT and Grammarly if you need help with your writing, Jack says.

Advertising

This is probably the biggest perk of going through an established estate agent - your home is much more likely to be viewed because they will have an established audience and a market. But it's very possible to do it alone.

"When it comes to advertising your home, explore a variety of avenues including local newspapers and social media," Jack says.

"Consider using websites like Strike, which allow individuals to list their properties for free on platforms like Rightmove," he suggests.

Viewings

Once you've secured some viewings, you've got the opportunity to make it a bit more personal than estate agents ever could - a real advantage.

"Explain the reasons behind your decision to purchase the property, highlight its unique features, and share the aspects of your neighbourhood that make it a desirable place to live," Jack says.

The small things matter when showing people round - so try to take an objective look around before you bring anyone in.

Do the things you'd do normally - make sure it smells nice and it's clean and tidy.

"Lastly, it's worth knowing that you must legally provide potential buyers with a free Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)."

The sale itself

Perhaps the most daunting aspect is the physical exchange of contracts and money.

An estate agent would typically oversee the process of the initial offer acceptance to the transfer of keys to the new owner.

However, if you go it alone, you'll need to become the central point of contact - bridging the gap between your solicitor or conveyancer and the buyer and their legal representative.

"Once you've accepted an offer on your property, your first task is to draft what's called a memorandum of sale," Jack says.

This document is a written confirmation of your acceptance of the offer and details the agreed price along with any specific conditions you've both agreed to.

"It's then recommended to engage the services of a solicitor or conveyancer to ensure all legal obligations are met," Jack says (of course, you'll need to do this even if you have an estate agent).

The cost of hiring one typically ranges from a few hundred to over £1,000, depending on factors such as fixed fees, hourly rates, the complexity of the sale and additional costs like property searches or land registry fees.

"In the absence of an estate agent, you'll be responsible for keeping your buyer informed about the progress of the sale. This involves regular updates on the status of legal procedures and any relevant developments," Jack says, before adding that this can actually be a good thing.

"By taking on these responsibilities independently, you'll have greater control over the sale process. However, it will require you to be exceptionally organised, and you'll need to be very good at communicating too."

Any risks to be aware of?

Rita Patel, legal director at law firm Browne Jacobson , tells us the biggest risk for people selling their properties without an estate agent is the lack of a vetting and verification process of the potential buyer.

Estate agents will verify the buyer's identity and check the buyer's proof and source of funds - without this, there's no way to assess the buyer is legitimate and can afford to buy.

"Whilst this process is something lawyers can help with, this is often at an additional cost, and you'll need to start from square one if there is an issue with a potential buyer's identification and/or financial eligibility," Rita says.

More generally, selling without an agent can extend the time it takes to sell.

"Zoopla suggests this timeframe is normally around 17-34 weeks, but with no one on hand to consistently promote and drive the property sale at all stages, going solo drags this process out," Rita says.

"Agents can also help mediate any potential breakdowns in communication between the buyer and seller - reducing the likelihood of having to go back to market and start again."

The advantages

Laura Owen-Brown, a PR manager from Gloucestershire, tells us she is set to sell her house without an estate agent in the near future.

"My disappointment with estate agents stems from their lack of familiarity with the properties they attempted to sell me when I was buying my current house," she says.

"They couldn't tell me about the details that truly matter, like the optimal times for sunlight in the garden, how much council tax I'd pay, what the roof was made of, the places I could walk my dog off lead or the impact of post-football match traffic on Sundays.

"These types of details can shape the experience of living in a house for years and are just as important as the square footage, EPC rating or how many bedrooms a property has," she adds.

She says the current "transactional" approach to selling houses feels "impersonal and outdated" to her.

"Yes, I'll have to handle more admin, but the savings in both money and time will make it worthwhile. Liaising with buyers and solicitors directly without a third party slowing everything down will mean I can be in control and have transparency throughout the process, especially during negotiations," she says.

All in all...

As Laura says, it's very much a case of whether you can stomach the admin and are happy to take the risks on background financial checks.

If you are aware of all the above and willing to take on the organisational burden, you could save yourself a serious chunk of cash.

The main topics from the Money blog that got you commenting this week were...

Government-funded childcare

Michel Roux Jr's comments about the future of the restaurant industry

Nearly 600 new skyscrapers for London

From last Sunday, eligible working parents of children from nine-months-old in England have been able to register for access to up to 15 free hours of government-funded childcare per week.

Those hours can be claimed from September.

Some readers pointed out the T&Cs...

This 15 hrs a week is for term time ONLY. So full-time working parents will have to either tell their employer they can't work in school holidays or pro-rata it across the year which is 10 hours a week. Yvonne grandma

Others said it spoke to issues in the wider childcare sector...

Is the government going to give pay rises to nursery staff? They are very low paid staff, and can't get enough staff as it is!! Nurseries may have to close if they don't get staff, so parents won't be able to take up the offer!! What is the government going to do about it? Carol

Chefs or delivery drivers?

Celebrity chef Michel Roux Jr has suggested that restaurants may only open three days per week because young people prefer other jobs - like delivering parcels.

"Just because I worked 80 hours a week or more doesn't mean the next generation should," he said.

"Quite the contrary. That is something that we have to address in our industry."

Readers said...

That's because one [job] is on the verge of slave labour and one definitely is slave labour. And the latter I'm referring to is working in a kitchen for a chef. Realist2024

Spent 35 years working as a chef. Young people nowadays are not willing to do the extra hours (usually unpaid) and work every weekend. Godsends like my generation of chefs did and do. Bucks

There's been considerable backlash in our comments section after a thinktank said a total of 583 skyscrapers are "queuing up in the pipeline" to be built across central London.

That is more than double the 270 built in the past decade...

"600 new skyscrapers on way for London" while the majority are struggling. When will something serious be done about growing wealth inequality in the UK? A growing economy is useless while the gap between the ultra rich and everyone else increases. Qwerty1

How many unnecessary skyscrapers for London? It's fine, as long as they are not made using steel, glass, concrete or bricks - don't people know there's a climate emergency? Shanghaiwan

Who's paying for it? What about the North? treelectrical

The energy price cap is set to fall by about 7% in July, a respected energy markets researcher has said.

Ahead of next Friday's announcement by Ofgem for the July-September period, Cornwall Insights said: "For a typical dual fuel household, we predict the July price cap to be £1,574 per annum" - a drop from £1,690.

Looking further ahead, it forecasted the cap will rise again slightly in October, before falling in January next year.

"A predicted 7% drop in energy prices in July is clearly good news, with the price cap looking likely to hit its lowest level in over two years," a spokesperson for Uswitch said.

Around 100 more prosecutions of sub-postmasters unrelated to the Horizon scandal could be "tainted" , a Sky News investigation has found, as officials worked with now discredited Post Office investigators to secure convictions.

The prosecutions of Post Office staff were led by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) between 2001 and 2006.

It is understood these usually involved the cashing in of stolen order books.

The Post Office itself wrongly prosecuted hundreds of sub-postmasters between 1999 and 2015 - based on evidence from the faulty Horizon accounting system.

Read more from our business correspondent Adele Robinson by clicking here ...

The UK's mega rich are dwindling in a sign Britain's "billionaire boom has come to an end" , according to the latest Sunday Times Rich List.

The list reveals the largest fall in billionaires in the guide's history - from a peak of 177 in 2022 to 165 this year.

While the combined wealth of the list's 350 wealthiest individuals amounts to more than £795bn - larger than the GDP of Poland - the guide's compiler says time will tell what impact a drop in billionaires could have.

"This year's Sunday Times Rich List suggests Britain's billionaire boom has come to an end," Robert Watts said.

Read on here ...

The Money blog is your place for consumer news, economic analysis and everything you need to know about the cost of living - bookmark news.sky.com/money.

It runs with live updates every weekday - while on Saturdays we scale back and offer you a selection of weekend reads.

Check them out this morning and we'll be back on Monday with rolling news and features.

The Money team is Emily Mee, Bhvishya Patel, Jess Sharp, Katie Williams, Brad Young and Ollie Cooper, with sub-editing by Isobel Souster. The blog is edited by Jimmy Rice.

The Body Shop’s administrators are to launch an auction of the chain after concluding that an alternative restructuring of one of Britain’s best-known high street retailers was not viable.

Sky News has learnt that FRP Advisory, which has been overseeing the collapsed business since January, is to begin formally sounding out potential buyers in the coming weeks.

The move raises the prospect of new owners taking control of The Body Shop, which was founded nearly half a century ago.

The Webby Awards

Highlights from the 28th annual webby awards.

23rd Annual Webby Awards

Entry deadline: december 20, 2020.

Last night was the 28th Annual Webby Awards, hosted by Amber Ruffin! It was an unforgettable night, a fitting toast to the Internet’s most cutting-edge teams and creators who took One Giant Leap to create something unparalleled.

It was a night to remember—from a toast to Internet fave and visionary creative Keke Palmer , Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ heartfelt moment with Ina Garten , a show of gratitude Shannon Sharpe , a remarkable homage to Kara Swisher’s lifetime of groundbreaking reporting, and a celebration of Jerrod Carmichael’s brilliant comedic performance. Amber Ruffin broke out in song to bid farewell to the digital moments that make us all cringe.

Plus, special appearances from President and CEO of the NAACP Derrick Johnson, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Laverne Cox, Madison Tevlin, Grimace, Oliver and James Phelps, and more!

We’ve rounded up a few special moments below—get a closer look into the show at winners.webbyawards.com ! Follow @TheWebbyAwards everywhere to catch up on all the fun and keep the celebrations going by using #Webbys.

Relive the best moments from the Internet's biggest night! Follow @TheWebbyAwards everywhere for the full recap.

The loved and lauded Keke Palmer accepted a Webby Special Achievement Award for her one-of-a-kind, vibrant, presence online, and for blending digital innovation and artistry to empower Black communities. With her trademark charm, she left the audience with “I’m Blessed to Do This.”

Watch Keke’s Speech

After sharing a touching moment with presenter Ina Garten , the iconic Julia Louis-Dreyfus accepted the 2024 Webby Podcast of the Year Award for her poignant podcast, “Wiser Than Me.” Her words were, ”Listen to Old Women, Motherf*ckers.”

Watch Julia’s Speech

For platforming crucial cultural and social dialogues through his podcast, “Club Shay Shay”—plus his advocacy for racial equality and early detection in health— Shannon Sharpe accepted the 2024 Webby Advocate of the Year Award , presented by President and CEO of the NAACP Derrick Johnson . His 5-Word Speech? “God is Great. Thank You.”

Watch Shannon’s Speech

In an unforgettable moment, the room came to a hush as Kara Swisher took the stage to accept the 2024 Webby Lifetime Achievement Award from legendary journalist Maggie Haberman . It was a fitting tribute to her life’s work of breaking the toughest stories across business and tech. Her 5 Words? “I Ain’t Done, Tech Bros.”

Watch Kara’s Speech

Multi-talented comedian and storyteller Jerrod Carmichael accepted the Webby Outstanding Comedic Performance Award from comedian and actor Lil Rel Howery, for his fresh, witty and raw work in his documentary series, the “Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show.” In typical Jerrod fashion, his 5 Words were, “Risk Everything Every Time. Thanks.”

Watch Jerrod’s Speech

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer took the stage to accept a Webby Award from Amanda Litman , Co-Founder & Co-Executive director of Run for Something, for expertly wielding social media to empower women through her campaign, “Governor Barbie.” Even in a moment dedicated to her, she used it to inspire women everywhere to break stereotypes—”Wear Pink. Get Shit Done.”

Watch Gov. Gretchen’s Speech

A deeply reflective and spiritual series, “The Laverne Cox Show,” was honored with a Webby for spotlighting intimate conversations about life and sharing wisdom from people of all walks of life. Laverne Cox graced the Webby stage once again to accept the award from Chase Strangio, Deputy Director for Transgender Justice with ACLU’s LGBT & HIV Project, saying, “Healing Collective Trauma: Necessary, Possible.”

Watch Laverne’s Moment

Madison Tevlin , Canadian actress, digital creator, and face of the instant viral video, “Down Syndrome is the Least Interesting Thing About Me,” accepted her Webby for the campaign in a moving exchange with Canadian model and fellow creator, Coco Rocha . Her message? “It’s fun proving people wrong.”

Watch Madison’s Speech

At a time when life-saving reproductive resources are under attack, the film “Plan C” documents the creative loopholes advocates have found to provide radical access to abortion pills. Following remarks on the urgency of this work from Webby President Claire Graves , Meena Harris , CEO of Phenomenal Media and the Reductress , presented the Director of the film, Tracy Droz Tragos, and Plan C Co-Founder, Francine Coeytaux, with the movie’s Webby Award for creatively using social media for advocacy. She called the audience to action, saying “It Feels Like A Revolution. (Available in All 50 States).”

Watch the Inspiring Moment

Last night was also dedicated to celebrating the wonderful and near-addictive apps that we all use and love. Nilay Patel, Editor-in-Chief of The Verge and co-host of The Vergecast, honored Webby People’s Voice Winners Threads, Letterboxd and The New York Times Connections Game in a special onstage moment.

Watch the Moment

Head to winners.webbyawards.com for a full recap of the night! For a peek into the behind-the-scenes action, follow @TheWebbyAwards on Instagram , X/Twitter , TikTok and YouTube !

GET THE 011

Sign-up to our newsletters to get the latest from the webby awards..

Cookies on GOV.UK

We use some essential cookies to make this website work.

We’d like to set additional cookies to understand how you use GOV.UK, remember your settings and improve government services.

We also use cookies set by other sites to help us deliver content from their services.

You have accepted additional cookies. You can change your cookie settings at any time.

You have rejected additional cookies. You can change your cookie settings at any time.

Government efficiency, transparency and accountability

UK Export Finance Business Plan 2020 to 2024

UK Export Finance

Published 25 June 2020

This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: [email protected] .

Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.

This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-export-finance-business-plan-2020-to-2024/uk-export-finance-business-plan-2020-to-2024

1. Minister’s foreword

It gives me great pleasure to present the UK Export Finance Business Plan for 2020–24.

The plan reflects and renews the government’s ambition for the UK to become an exporting powerhouse, overcome international obstacles to UK business and strengthen trade relationships with our partners around the world.

Underpinning this ambition stands UK Export Finance (UKEF), the UK’s world-class Export Credit Agency (ECA).

UKEF has 100 years’ experience supporting UK businesses to achieve global success and, as the world’s oldest ECA, has learnt constantly to innovate while maintaining standards and principles.This plan builds on the work of previous business plans and UKEF’s achievements to date.

It sets out the measures UKEF will take over the next four years to serve its customers by enhancing its product range, growing relationships in the UK and overseas, and, in line with the Industrial Strategy, aligning support with priority sectors and markets for the UK economy. UKEF’s awardwinning expertise will enable businesses from all parts of the UK to access developing markets and help small and medium-sized businesses to start or expand their exporting activity.

UKEF will support the transition to a low-carbon economy, contribute to sustainable development, be rigorous in its risk assessment to protect taxpayers’ money and embed compliance at the heart of its business.

Government cannot do all this alone. Our success relies on working closely with our international peers, as well as with our delivery and industry partners, and this will continue to be a priority during this Business Plan period.

As the world deals with and eventually recovers from the COVID-19 crisis it’s essential that the UK reaches out to partners around the world to maintain and enhance trading opportunities. UKEF will play an important part in this endeavour, encouraging and financing companies of all sizes, so that the benefits of exporting – economic opportunity, jobs and prosperity – are felt in every part of this United Kingdom.

Graham Stuart, Minister for Exports

2. chair’s foreword.

This business plan sets out UK Export Finance’s strategy to achieve its vision: to be the best ECA.

This is my second Business Plan as Chair of UKEF, and during my tenure to date I am proud to have seen the department go from strength to strength, culminating, fittingly, in record success in its 100th year in 2019.

Now, at the outset of our second century, we need to continue to strive; to innovate, improve and diversify in order to ensure that UK exporters of all shapes and sizes, backed by the UK’s world-class ECA, can achieve sustained international success, especially now as the world recovers from the COVID-19 crisis. To do so, we will need to continue to collaborate generously across government and the private sector to deliver the best possible support for our customers.

Our ambition applies not only to our offer for our customers and partner financial institutions – although this is of course vital – but also for our staff. We retain our ambition to have the most engaged workforce in the Civil Service, and we will continue to champion diversity, ensuring that we can harness the full power of our employees’ many talents.

Along with the entire Board, who have been closely engaged in the development of this strategy, I look forward to seeing UKEF continue to help UK businesses succeed globally.

Noël Harwerth, Chair of the Board

3. chief executive’s introduction.

For the last 100 years, UKEF’s core strategic goal has remained unchanged – to help UK companies do business with overseas customers, boosting the economy, jobs and livelihoods at home and for our trading partners abroad.

The department has achieved this against a backdrop of seismic global change over the course of the century – rapid economic development, exponential technological advances, and opening-up of the international trading system. There have also been hard times; UKEF was created in 1919 to help kickstart exports following the trade blockades of the First World War, and the last 100 years has seen us weather recessions, market crashes and global conflicts. Throughout, we have innovated to ensure we remain relevant to the changing requirements of our customers. This spirit of innovation will be just as important at the start of this next century, as the world responds to the challenges posed by COVID-19.

As in 1919, exports remain vital to the economy; businesses that export are more productive, create more jobs, and pay higher wages. UK goods and services are in high demand around the world, but at the same time face fierce competition from established and emerging economies. International trade is recognised as an important part of the global effort to support countries out of poverty, but protectionism poses a threat to the international trading system.

So much has changed in the last 100 years, and yet so much remains constant.

This Business Plan comes at a fitting moment, as we begin our next 100 years. To help the UK and its businesses meet the challenges of the next century, we will need to continue to be proactive, to adapt and respond. We must relentlessly focus on what our customers need from us, and deliver it to them most efficiently and effectively.

Meanwhile, the international regulatory landscape for export credits is in a state of flux. There is a broad recognition among most OECD participants that the current framework needs to be modernised to reflect the evolution of global trade. Separately, the International Working Group continues its work towards achieving a new set of rules for export credits that includes non-OECD countries. Overlaying all of this is the broader context of trade disputes and tariff wars, which has made reform quite challenging. UKEF will continue its efforts, now the UK has an independent voice post-EU Exit, to ensure the right regulatory landscape and a level playing field for UK exporters.

Our strategy for the next four years is one of ambitious evolution, building on our century’s experience and success and the advances under our last Business Plan to help deliver against the government’s ambition for exporters from all across the UK.

In this plan, we set out the seven delivery and organisational objectives that underpin the realisation of our mission, to ensure that no viable export from any part of the UK fails for lack of finance or insurance.

These objectives commit us to being proactive in pursuit of opportunities for UK exporters, seeking to provide support for growing markets and sectors, and spreading the economic benefits of exporting to businesses of all sizes and their employees across the UK. To do so, we need to continue building awareness of and engagement with UKEF among UK and international customers, as well as our delivery partners and stakeholders.

At the same time, we remain dedicated to rigorous management of the financial, market, compliance, enterprise, climate change, environmental and social risks we face as a department through the business we do, ensuring that we responsibly use the taxpayers’ resources at our disposal. We also recognise the impact our support can have on export destination countries and are committed to trying to boost the positive and mitigate any negative.

We will also pursue our goal of having one of the most engaged workforces in the Civil Service. We recognise that only by promoting an inclusive culture of diverse talents and experience can we ensure that we are delivering for our customers and for government and the UK as a whole.

Over the next four years, I look forward to seeing us deliver ever more fully on our mission and help realise the potential of the UK’s exporting community.

Louis Taylor, Chief Executive, UK Export Finance

3.1 economic snapshot.

The outbreak and spread of COVID-19 has resulted in an unprecedented shock to the global economy as strict containment measures are adopted around the world. As a result, there is a high degree of uncertainty in the outlook for 2020 and beyond. Global growth forecasts are consistently being revised, with recent projections varying between -4% and +1.2% for 2020 [footnote 1] . World economic activity is expected to increase in 2021, ranging between +2.5% and +4.9%, [footnote 2] but the recovery will depend on the success of policy measures amongst other factors.

This poses a potential challenge for UKEF and other ECAs, with the uncertain global outlook making robust risk management more important than ever. However, although major central banks continue to implement accommodative monetary policies, access to finance is beginning to be constrained. In the near-term, this tighter liquidity access may be testing for emerging markets but could, ultimately, heighten demand for UKEF support as ECAs can address financing gaps. In the medium to long-term, emerging markets will continue to drive global growth, and UKEF could see higher demand from UK exporters tapping into business opportunities in these markets.

4. About UKEF

UK Export Finance (UKEF) is the UK’s export credit agency and a government department, reporting to the Secretary of State for International Trade and the Minister for Exports, and operating under the consent of HM Treasury. As part of HM Government’s offer of support for exports, UKEF is strategically and operationally aligned with the Department for International Trade and is an integral element of the Export Strategy.

Operating under the Export & Investment Guarantees Act (1991) as amended (EIGA), UKEF provides guarantees, loans and insurance to help UK companies:

win export contracts, by offering attractive financing terms to their overseas buyers
fulfil orders, by supporting access to trade finance
get paid for overseas sales, by providing export-related insurance
protect their international investments, by providing political risk insurance

UKEF’s maximum commitment is £50 billion, and it is required to operate at zero net cost to the taxpayer. To achieve this, we charge premium rates which cover the cost of the risks we take and a proportion of our operating costs. We operate under the consent of HM Treasury, which sets financial objectives that we must meet; to do so, we have rigorous credit risk management and pricing policies.

UKEF’s role is to complement rather than compete with the private sector, and to do so we work with more than 100 private sector partners to deliver our support.

4.1 Our export solutions

Export credit solutions.

supporting finance for overseas buyers of UK exports.
long term credit (2 to 18 years)

lower volume, higher value.

4.2 Trade finance solutions

supporting UK exporters
shorter term credit (less than 2 years)

lower value, higher volume

5. UKEF’s Business Plan 2017 to 2020

UKEF’s business plan for 2017 to 2020 set out an accelerated path, scaling up UKEF’s businesses and operations while delivering a high quality of service for our customers and having a highly engaged workforce.

5.1 Understanding our impact

Under this business plan, in 2019–20 we delivered:

a record £4.4 billion worth of support in the financial year
this directly helped 339 UK companies sell to 69 overseas markets, and indirectly helped many more in their supply chains
77% of the companies we provided with finance and insurance were small or medium-sized and 88% were based outside of London

In total, over the life of the business plan we have:

been named as ‘Best Export Credit Agency’ by Global Trade Review every year, as well as winning awards from Euromoney’s Trade Finance and Trade Finance Global
connected over 1,000 UK suppliers with opportunities on projects across the world through our supplier fair program
launched a new targeted marketing campaign under the GREAT brand that has generated over 10,000 business enquiries
increased the number of local currencies that we can support to over 60, from the Armenian dram to the Vietnamese dong
achieved our three highest ever scores in the Civil Service People Survey

2017 to 2020: how we performed against our Business Plan commitments

We said we would:

be a more scalable organisation, able to support higher volumes of business efficiently and effectively, in particular on the short-term trade finance side
be a more customer-centric organisation, offering improved response times, quicker decision-taking and improved case-processing
make meaningful contact with more exporters and other stakeholders, resulting in more exporters accessing support
use digital as a primary means for managing relationships with a wider range of stakeholders
be smarter in our decision-taking, using data and market intelligence to guide our interventions
be a great place to work, with all staff engaged in delivering our mission and clear about the value of their contribution
collaborate generously with colleagues in the Department for International Trade, other government departments and other partners, combining our efforts to maximise the benefit to exporters
continue to be disciplined in our use of resources, and in risk management, in order to operate within the terms of our Spending Review 2015 settlement and Treasury consent, and at no net cost to the taxpayer
implemented our innovative new bank partnership and digital trade finance service to deliver more efficiently to SMEs
enhanced our digital services to make UKEF more accessible and user-friendly for our customers
deployed our ‘Exporters’ Edge’ GREAT marketing campaign, generating over 10,000 new responses (exceeding our target by over 20%), and introduced a programme of supplier fairs to help UK companies access the supply chain of projects UKEF supports
established a web presence for our international customers and continued to develop our digital offer for UK businesses
improved our data management and business analytics so that we can embed insight and analysis across our business, enabling us to make better informed and evidenced decisions
scored our three highest engagement scores to date in the Civil Service People Survey; we have also made significant strides forward in improving our operating model, staff development and diversity
UKEF is at the heart of the government’s Export Strategy, collaborating generously with other parts of government to provide a joined-up offering to exporters
continued to meet our financial objectives and operate at no net cost to the taxpayer. In 2019–20, we generated £177 million in premium income

6. Our response to the COVID-19 pandemic

We are gradually learning more about the impact of COVID-19. The shock to the global economy is predicted to be bigger than the global financial crisis of 2008. At the time of this Business Plan going to print, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) described the world economy as ‘on a tightrope’. OECD analysis has shown that the COVID- 19 pandemic has triggered the ‘most severe economic recession in nearly a century and is causing enormous danger to people’s health, jobs and well- being’. The World Bank has said that although the ultimate outcome of the pandemic is still uncertain, the outbreak of COVID-19 will result in contractions across the vast majority of emerging markets and developing economies.

As an export credit agency, in times of economic stress we have a vital role to play in stimulating export markets and aiding a smooth recovery by providing export credit solutions where the private sector will not. We are committed to our mission which is to ensure that no viable UK export fails for lack of finance or insurance.

With HM Treasury, we are working on a range of measures to address the challenges of the pandemic by taking a pragmatic, commercially- driven approach to supporting UK exporters and suppliers. This includes promoting products such as our Export Working Capital Scheme that will ease cash flow constraints for exporting businesses. Products such as these will allow us to continue to provide finance to customers that we would have supported before the outbreak of COVID-19 by taking into account the commercial impact of the virus on their business models.

While all sectors of the economy have been affected by COVID- 19, Bank of England analysis shows that services have been hit harder than manufacturing (Bank of England, June 2020). We anticipate that the speed of recovery will vary sector to sector, and we may even see lasting changes in consumer consumption and behaviour. UKEF’s product suite is comprehensive and capable of supporting exporters of all sizes and across all sectors and we are up-dating and developing new and enhanced products to support UK exporters and suppliers as part of our COVID- 19 recovery plan.

In terms of our products, we are working hard to launch over the coming months our General Export Facility, and formally launch our Export Development Guarantee which is already available. These products provide a guarantee of up to 80% to support bank loans for general working capital or capital expenditure for UK exporters and which is not tied to a specific exporting contract. First used in 2019 to support Jaguar Land Rover, we will be rolling these products out more widely and anticipate they will be helpful to businesses whose exports and supply chains have been affected by the pandemic and require support.

The scope of our Export Insurance Policy has also been temporarily extended to include transactions with the EU, Australia, Canada, Iceland, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland and the USA so that cover is now available in 180 countries. We know that this crisis has put pressure on the ability of some exporters to agree payment terms and commercial credit insurance may become harder to obtain. By insuring against non-payment, UKEF is providing confidence to UK suppliers to continue trading and can offer greater flexibility around payment terms to overseas buyers.

We are mindful that the impact of COVID- 19 on the UK’s regions will vary and will deploy our 24 regional representatives to provide support to local exporters and businesses as required. The additional funding secured in the Budget in March 2020 has provided us with the necessary resources to enhance our support to businesses in the North East of England and Scotland. That support will be important in boosting jobs and growth in those local economies, particularly in the clean growth sectors, as we move into the recovery phase of the pandemic.

This Business Plan is for both the immediate future and up to 2024. We don’t yet fully understand how and when the markets will recover from the impact of this global pandemic. However, UKEF, as the UK’s export credit agency, is at the forefront of recovery efforts through the range of finance solutions it can offer to the UK’s exporters and suppliers.

7. Mission and objectives for 2020 to 2024

7.1 mission.

To ensure that no viable UK export fails for lack of finance or insurance from the private sector, while operating at no net cost to the taxpayer.

To achieve this, we have four delivery objectives, which set out what we need to achieve to realise this mission, and three organisational objectives, which define the characteristics that we need as a department to be able to do so.

7.2 Objectives

provide export finance, insurance and guidance to help UK companies of all sizes sell overseas, supporting delivery of the government’s Export Strategy
continuously adapt and focus our activity on sectors and countries where UKEF support will have the greatest economic benefit for exporters and suppliers of all sizes and across all of the UK
improve awareness and understanding among UK companies, international buyers, prime contractors, sponsors, banks and insurers about export finance and insurance support available from UKEF and the private sector
ensure we retain the confidence of our ministers by rigorously managing risk, improving efficiency and operating within the consent of HM Treasury
be a great place to work, engaging and developing our staff to deliver better for our customers, in line with the vision for a ‘Brilliant Civil Service’
be a customer-centric organisation, delivering high-quality services to the businesses and organisations we support
be agile and adaptable, responding to emerging economic developments and market gaps

Objectives 1 to 4 are delivery objectives. Objectives 5 to 7 are organisational objectives. The following sections set out how we will achieve each of these objectives during the next four‑year period.

7.3 Objective 1

Provide export finance, insurance and guidance to help UK companies of all sizes sell overseas, supporting delivery of the government’s Export Strategy

UKEF supports exports in three ways: providing guarantees, insurance and loans to help finance UK companies’ international sales and protect them from risk; providing finance to and working with prime contractors and overseas buyers to secure opportunities for the UK supply chain; and referring companies to private sector suppliers of export finance and insurance to ensure their exports succeed.

UKEF’s finance and insurance products are provided in collaboration with delivery partners in the private sector, and rely on the strength of these relationships. The number of customers UKEF supports and value of business underwritten are inversely dependent on private sector liquidity and risk appetite; we do not seek to displace support available from the private sector, but to fill market gaps to ensure that viable exports can happen.

7.4 What we will do to achieve this

Support exporters of all sizes, across all regions and sectors, subject to market needs and complying with applicable environmental, human rights, anti-bribery and corruption, sustainable lending and other relevant UKEF, UK government and international requirements.
Build UKEF’s business pipeline of large projects, connecting the UK supply chain and its support to SMEs through enhanced marketing campaigns and our international and UK origination networks.
Work with ‘super-buyers’ overseas, UK and non-UK prime contractors and multipliers to enable increased opportunities for the UK supply chain including SMEs to sell into overseas projects backed by UKEF financing.
Support SMEs efficiently and effectively, both by helping them access international businesses opportunities and by building on our innovative bank partnership delivery model to scale up our trade finance business, which currently sees two thirds of applications processed automatically.
Grow relationships with professional advisors, international banks and other ECAs to increase our customer base.
Use insight to continue to innovate, develop and enhance UKEF’s suite of products and delivery model to fill identified market gaps, making full use of UKEF’s statutory powers under the EIGA. *Enhance UKEF’s export finance managers (EFM) network which is based across the regions of the UK, working alongside DIT’s International Trade Advisers to improve awareness, understanding and take-up of trade and other finance products to support exports with particular focus on SMEs.

7.5 Case study: Opening up opportunities in Iraq

For some years now, UKEF has supported the nation-building efforts of the government of Iraq. In 2018, UKEF provided £590 million worth of support for two contracts between GE and the government of Iraq to build two gas-fired power stations in the south of the country.

Power shortages have been a brake on Iraq’s journey towards reconstruction. These highly efficient combined cycle power stations, where gas was selected over oil as a result of UKEF financing, are already ensuring that the citizens in the region have greater access to reliable power.

UKEF held a supplier fair in March 2017 to connect UK companies in the supply chain to this project. Of the 140 companies that attended the fair, 80% were SMEs and over two-thirds were involved in the bidding process.

Once completed, this project will include nearly £200 million of UK content, business that would not have been achieved for UK companies without the involvement of UKEF.

7.6 Objective 2

Continuously adapt and focus our activity on sectors and countries where UKEF support will have the greatest economic benefit for exporters and suppliers of all sizes and across all of the UK

While the nature of our business means that we are primarily demand-led, we can anticipate international markets and sectors where accessing finance from the private sector can be challenging, meaning that UKEF support will be in greatest demand, and therefore have the greatest impact. The availability of UKEF support in these areas may also contribute to a more competitive UK offer, and help to win business for UK exporters and suppliers.

For example, access to finance can be a particular challenge in Development Assistance Committee (DAC) countries. Similarly, support is often needed for products and sectors at very early stages of development on the innovation to export pathway (such as energy transition technologies, low carbon and renewable energy, carbon capture utilisation and storage) or seeing a decline in growth (such as aircraft programmes being wound down). Mapping this demand will help us focus our efforts, from marketing and business origination, to product development, to portfolio and exposure management.

UKEF’s support can also be a critical lever in realising wider UK government strategies, for example those set out in the Export Strategy and Global Britain initiative, as well as priorities such as support for SMEs, levelling-up and clean growth. Support from colleagues in the DIT, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and Department for International Development, as well as other government departments, will be vital in achieving this objective.

7.7 What we will do to achieve this

In collaboration with other government departments, such as the DIT, use insight and market intelligence to identify and map sectors and countries with gaps in private sector provision and align with wider government sectoral and other priorities, such as support for SMEs, levelling up and clean growth, to target our marketing and business development activities and broaden our UK and international networks’ reach.
Strengthen and optimise UKEF’s overseas network of International Export Finance Executives and harness the wider HM Government network – overseas posts, sector and business advisory teams in DIT and BEIS – to connect potential customers with UKEF support.
Develop a government-to-government finance offer for sovereign buyers to support wider government trade diplomacy.
Support the global transition to a low-carbon economy by responding to the evolving needs of UK companies and promoting support for clean growth and climate resilience technologies and supporting the cross-government Green Finance Strategy.
Provide UKEF support alongside ODA (official development assistance) and commercial financing, as relevant, in markets and sectors where there are demonstrable developmental and prosperity benefits with secondary benefits to the UK supply chain.
Refresh our exposure management framework and actively manage our portfolio to mitigate risk concentrations in sectors and countries, ensuring we maintain capacity to underwrite more business where there is high demand.

7.8 Case Study: UKEF’s first support for an offshore wind farm

In 2019, we announced that we were providing a £230 million project finance guarantee to support the construction of an offshore wind farm in the Taiwan Strait.

The Formosa 2 wind farm project involves the construction of 47 new turbines and will generate 376 megawatts of green energy, forming part of the Taiwanese authorities’ target of generating 20% of its power from renewable sources by 2025.

As a result of UKEF’s support for this project, UK companies will be involved in its construction, helping to unlock the export potential of this growing sector of the UK economy and establish them both in the Taiwanese and wider Asia-Pacific market.

UKEF has provided its support in New Taiwanese Dollars, one of over 60 currencies in which UKEF can offer financing, protecting the buyer from market fluctuations and making sourcing from the UK more attractive.

7.9 UKEF and the Sustainable Development Goals

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), unanimously agreed in 2015 by all 193 member states of the United Nations, lay out a transformative agenda to tackle the world’s most pressing social, environmental and economic challenges by 2030. The 17 Goals and associated 169 specific targets spell out concrete ambitions to be realised to ensure a sustainable, resilient, and inclusive future in which no one is left behind.

As a UK government department delivering support to UK exporters, UKEF actively contributes to the UK’s progress towards, and achievement of, the following SDGs:

We also recognise broader effects of our activities. The role we play unlocking finance for delivery of projects in destination markets for UK exporters has clear potential for ancillary contributions to the following SDGs:

UKEF is also actively exploring opportunities to improve sustainable development at every stage of our work, both directly and indirectly, working with DFID, other UK government departments and international institutions. In this context and to support Objectives 1, 2 and 7 of the 2020-24 Business Plan, we are currently examining the role we play in the value chain to inform our strategy development, seeking to maximise value for the UK and beneficiary countries.

UKEF is confident that its contribution to unlocking finance from the private sector will prove materially important to realising the SDGs in its destination markets. We believe that in meeting Objective 2 of the 2020-2024 Business Plan in particular, ECA financing will play an increasingly important role in economic development by actively bridging the finance gap, supporting the development of critical infrastructure, and demonstrating the viability of commercial financing in less developed economies. By improving our understanding of the role and scale of contribution towards the SDGs, and by delivering conscious continual improvement in this area, UKEF will uphold its responsibility in ensuring that UK exporters play their role in support of the SDGs whilst maintaining their competitive global standing.

7.10 Objective 3

Improve awareness and understanding among UK companies, international buyers, prime contractors, sponsors, banks and insurers about export finance and insurance support available from UKEF and the private sector

Given that our role is to fill gaps in private sector provision, ensuring that companies know that UKEF support is available at the point that they may need it is critical to our success; high levels of awareness and understanding also provide assurance that we are indeed filling the market gap.

Through our marketing activities, we engage companies in order to increase awareness, understanding and take-up of our support in every region of the UK and across all sectors.

7.11 What we will do to achieve this

Build awareness and understanding so that exporters of all sizes, and particularly SMEs, from across the UK and overseas buyers can access UKEF support, through targeted and GREAT campaign activities both in the UK and internationally, as well as through further integrating UKEF’s offer into other government digital platforms.
Identify and target new UK and international customers that are most likely to benefit from UKEF support through improved and increased market research, using an insight-driven approach to build on previous learning.
Promote UKEF as the ECA of choice among buyers, global contractors and multipliers in key markets to encourage them to source from the UK supply chain, including SMEs, for major projects.
Leverage relationships with commercial partners and intermediaries to promote UKEF products and services internationally and domestically, encouraging their customers to apply for support. • Continue to expand our supplier fair programme across the UK to help SMEs win business with UKEF‑supported projects, connecting UK supply with international demand. • Enhance our EFM network and its activities to improve SMEs’ awareness, understanding and take-up of trade and other finance products to support exports.

7.12 Case Study: The Exporters’ Edge campaign

In 2018–19, UKEF launched a new campaign under the government’s GREAT umbrella entitled ‘The Exporters’ Edge’, showcasing the support on offer from UK Export Finance to help exporters win contracts, fulfil orders and get paid.

This campaign generated more than 6,000 new responses from businesses in its first year, exceeding its target by 20% and improving awareness of the support available.

7.13 Objective 4

Ensure we retain the confidence of our ministers by rigorously managing risk, improving efficiency and operating within the consent of HM Treasury.

UKEF seeks to operate at no long-term net cost to taxpayers, and delivers its statutory mandate to support exports and overseas investment under the consent of HM Treasury. This sets out financial objectives for our performance, including operating within an exposure cap and a portfolio risk appetite limit, and charging a premium that covers the risks we take on and a proportion of our operating costs.

Like all other government departments, UKEF has concluded its 2019 Spending Round, which resulted in a 29% increase in UKEF’s Resource Departmental Expenditure Limit for 2020–21. Budgets beyond this will be set in the 2020 Spending Review. We are also committed to efficiency and value for money in everything we do, as well as adhering to high standards of compliance and governance.

7.14 What we will do to achieve this

Continue to operate at no net cost to the taxpayer, pricing and proactively managing the financial, legal, credit, enterprise and reputational risk we take on to protect taxpayers from potential long‑term loss.
Operate within the consent of HM Treasury, meeting our financial and non-financial objectives and complying with our Exposure Management Framework.
Ensure we comply with Managing Public Money and deliver value for money in everything we do.
Further strengthen our strong capability in risk assessment by making climate-related financial disclosures in line with the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD) recommendations as soon as practicable after the end of the 2020–21 financial year.
Enhance and embed governance, compliance (including as set out in the government’s Anti-Corruption Strategy) and assurance, in line with government best practice.
Make improvements to information management and reporting processes to increase efficiency and manage operational risks.
Ensure we remain within the spending limits agreed with HM Treasury.
Remain agile and responsive to new ministerial priorities.

7.15 Case Study: Enterprise risk management

In 2019, UKEF combined several of its risk management activities into an overarching Enterprise Risk Management function reporting to the Chief Risk Officer. As part of its progress towards a more formalised controls environment, UKEF has established four core elements that define key themes, practices and processes that UKEF must have in place to effectively manage risk:

risk governance: three lines of defence model committee structure
risk appetite: defined measures for all risk types
risk management tools and processes: risk identification and control assessment, risk monitoring, reporting and escalation
business planning: Annual Report Operating Plan

This will help structure UKEF’s approach to enterprise risk management as it develops.

Implementing the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures recommendations

The UK government fully recognises the imperative of tackling climate change. UK companies have an important role to play in the global transition to a sustainable, low carbon economy and UKEF’s products and services can help them in this. UKEF works closely with other government departments, including BEIS and DIT, to ensure that UKEF can provide support where it is needed while cross-government strategies to combat climate change continue to be developed.

UKEF also recognises the need to integrate climate risks and opportunities in its decision making, which is why, in the government’s Green Finance Strategy, UKEF committed to assess its approach to climate-related risks and opportunities through adopting the TCFD’s recommendations as appropriate to an ECA and a government department. The framework provided by the TCFD’s recommendations will enable UKEF to consider what further action it takes in respect of climate change through systematically assessing the risks and opportunities and setting out its governance, strategy, risk management, metrics and targets for addressing these.

UKEF will make climate related financial disclosures in line with the TCFD recommendations in its Annual Report and Accounts to the extent possible from 2020–21.

7.16 Objective 5

Be a great place to work, engaging and developing our staff to deliver better for our customers, in line with the vision for a ‘Brilliant Civil Service’

Delivering this plan will not be possible without investing in our people. We will work to realise the government-wide Brilliant Civil Service vision, which focuses on improved outcomes, effective leadership, skilled people, and a great place to work.

UKEF is committed to developing and supporting an engaged, empowered, inclusive and resilient workforce, and we aspire to have the most engaged workforce in the Civil Service. Developing our staff is a particular priority, ensuring that we can increase diversity, retain talent and grow our capability to deliver our ambitions.

7.17 What we will do to achieve this

Build our workforce to ensure we have the optimum number of staff to deliver our objectives.
Create a work environment where learning and continuous development are part of our culture, to enable our leaders, managers and staff to achieve their potential, aligned to our organisational goals.
Continue to evolve the way we work, adopting progressive forms of flexible working to encourage people to work where and when they are most productive for our business, supported by enabling technology.
Build staff engagement to achieve ‘high performing department’ status in the annual People Survey.
Continue to improve the diversity of our workforce and ensure that all staff are given the opportunity to flourish in a work environment where they feel supported, valued and included.

7.18 Case Study: Becoming a more diverse and inclusive workplace

We made significant progress on our diversity and inclusion agenda over the life of our last Business Plan, with a goal of making UKEF a more diverse and inclusive workplace.

To support this, we developed a new Diversity and Inclusion Strategy and the department signed up to HM Treasury’s Women in Finance Charter, Level 3 of Disability Confident Employer and the Moving Ahead scheme.

UKEF staff created new Gender and LGBT+ networks, and the department also worked closely with the Department for International Trade to give UKEF staff access to DIT networks, including BAME and disabled employee networks.

UKEF adopted the Civil Service-wide disability passport scheme and put additional support in place to provide reasonable adjustments and to support staff with mental health related issues. We launched a network of Appropriate Behaviour Champions in 2018 and have also introduced new policies to support staff with caring responsibilities and continue to champion flexible working opportunities.

Our current workforce is the most diverse on ethnicity in our recent history. UKEF is now leading the way amongst government departments with 30.9% of staff identifying as being from BAME groups, compared to 12.7% for the wider Civil Service. 37.0% of our staff are female and we recognise that this is an area for improvement. Female staff account for 28.6% of the Senior Civil Service cohort. The mean gender pay gap reduced by a quarter in the 12 months to 31 March 2019.

Meanwhile, the proportion of staff reporting bullying and harassment in the workplace has fallen year on year and average days lost to sickness is at the lowest level on record.

7.19 Objective 6

Be a customer-centric organisation, delivering a high quality of service to the businesses and organisations we support.

The ability to meet and exceed our customers’ expectations of the quality of service we deliver will be a key differentiator for UKEF, in particular as we grow our relationships with our customers, our product range and our global customer base. To ensure that we are able to do so, we need to continue to build our understanding of our customers, ensuring our products, services and processes reflect their needs. We will also ensure that new digital solutions and systems, where appropriate, improve their experience of working with UKEF.

To date, UKEF has taken significant steps to digitise and automate its delivery, including our innovative bank partnership model. In this Business Plan period, we will develop this further, as well as automating more of our back-office processes to improve efficiency, and introduce end-to-end customer relationship and case management system in order to offer a seamless experience to our customers.

7.20 What we will do to achieve this

Continue to engage with customers and stakeholders to understand the needs and expectations of UK and international businesses.
Further develop our digital trade finance service, add new products to meet the evolving needs of our customers, and on-board new finance delivery partners, to make UKEF easier to do business with.
Automate more of our back-end processes to improve efficiency and reduce operational risks.
Create an end-to-end customer relationship and case management system to manage each deal through its full lifecycle all in the same system.
Implement our Target Operating Model.
Collaborate across government, notably with the Department for International Trade, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Department for International Development and British Business Bank, to provide a seamless experience for customers in the UK and overseas seeking support from HM Government.
Implement a Memorandum of Understanding between UKEF and the Department for International trade on improved coordination.

7.21 Case Study: Our foreign content policy

In 2019, we undertook a public consultation on proposed changes to our foreign content policy, which had not been reviewed since 2007, and didn’t reflect recent developments in global supply chains. The changes, which were adopted following the successful completion of the consultation, allow UKEF greater flexibility to recognise the full contribution of the UK supply chain. This includes support for scenarios which are outside of a specific export contract, but which are nevertheless conducive to supporting and developing exports from the UK.

The consultation offered exporters, overseas buyers, banks, trade associations, business representative organisations and non-governmental organisations, the opportunity to share their views on UKEF’s proposed changes to take a more flexible approach. The input received provided valuable insight in response to the proposals, delivering on the department commitment in the government’s Export Strategy to review and develop its policies in line with the needs of business.

UKEF received many responses, including from the British Exporters Association, British Insurance Brokers’ Association, Confederation of British Industry, Federation of Small Business, Maritime London, and UK Finance. Taking this approach has meant UKEF considered the different views of the respondents,ensuring that the needs of the customer are at the heart of UKEF’s updated policy.

7.22 Objective 7

Be agile and adaptable, responding to market gaps and economic and political developments.

UKEF aims to support exporters and their suppliers throughout the economic cycle. Global economic trends, emerging markets, new trading relationships and developing technologies, as well as COVID-19 recovery, will all have an impact on the support UK businesses and their international customers need. We must be able to identify and respond to these developments, ensuring that our organisational strategy remains fit to meet new challenges and expanding our range of products and solutions to fill emerging market gaps.

7.23 What we will do to achieve this

Embed evidence-based strategic planning and horizon-scanning in our work; review and refresh our business and operational plans annually to ensure we deliver in line with our mission.
Identify market gaps and develop and implement innovative product and service solutions that fully comply with our policies, control framework and international obligations.
Deploy our £8 billion Direct Lending Facility, including the additional £2 billion tranche for clean growth projects and £1 billion for defence and security exports allocated at the 2020 Spring Budget, and explore complementary alternative methods to provide long-term fixed‑rate financing.
Continue to play an active role representing the UK in international forums such as the OECD, International Working Group and Berne Union to ensure a level playing field for UK exporters. • Work closely with other government departments, ensuring we are embedded in cross-government strategies and contribute to whole-of-government solutions. • Support the post Covid-19 recovery by encouraging and financing companies of all sizes and from across a wide range of sectors within the UK.

7.24 Case Study: Benchmarking our products

Each year, the British Exporters Association (BExA), a key industry stakeholder for UKEF, evaluates our products and services against those of other ECAs. In 2018 –19, for the fifth year in a row, it gave us a score of 9 /10 for our product offering.

In particular, it notes the opportunities offered by the government’s Export Strategy and our focus on increasing the support that we offer to SMEs.

In its most recent report, BExA called on UKEF to increase finance available through our Direct Lending Facility. In the 2020 Spring Budget, UKEF’s Direct Lending Facility was significantly increased to £8 billion, with £2 billion allocated for clean growth projects and £1 billion for defense and security. This additional finance will help UK exporters and suppliers to access the opportunities and growth potential presented by new trading relationships now that the UK has left the EU.

7.25 How we’ll measure our success

We will measure our impact using the key performance indicators set out below:

Objective 1

Provide export finance, insurance and guidance to help UK companies sell overseas, supporting delivery of the government’s Export Strategy

Key performance indicators:

Value of business underwritten
Number of companies supported, either as direct applicants for support, as suppliers to a project supported, or through a successful referral to a private sector provider

Objective 2

Growth of pipeline in priority markets through overseas network
Breadth of sectors and destination countries

Objective 3

Target audience awareness
Leads generated

Objective 4

Ensure we retain the confidence of our ministers by rigorously managing risk, improving efficiency and operating within the consent of HM Treasury

Meeting financial objectives
Not exceeding our risk appetite across our enterprise risks

Objective 5

Be a great place to work, engaging and developing our staff to deliver better for our customers, in line with the vision for a “Brilliant Civil Service”

Staff engagement scores
Staff turnover and vacancy levels
Workforce diversity across protected characteristics

Objective 6

Be a customer-centric organisation, delivering high‑quality services to the businesses and organisations we support

Implementation of Target Operating Model roadmap and transformation plan
Customer satisfaction levels

Objective 7

Be agile and adaptable, responding to emerging economic developments and market gaps

Representation in international fora
Delivery for cross-government strategies
Product comparison scores

8. Our message house

Our values and our ambitions for our people are critical to achieving the vision, mission and objectives in this Business Plan. Our Message House sets out how they are aligned. This is used by all UKEF’s staff and senior leaders when setting operational, divisional and individual objectives.

To be the best export credit agency

Our Mission

To ensure that no viable UK export fails for lack of finance or insurance,while operating at no net cost to the taxpayer

Delivery objectives

UKEF’s delivery objectives are:

performance: provide the support UK exporters need to succeed
effectiveness: adapt, collaborate and focus activity where our support will have the biggest impact
brand: improve awareness of UKEF amongst customers and stakeholders
competence: retain confidence of stakeholders through effective delivery and management of risk

Organisational objectives

UKEF’s organisational objectives are to be:

a great place to work: engage and develop our staff to deliver for customers
customer-centric: deliver a high-quality service to those we support
agile and adaptable: respond to emerging economic developments and market gaps

Build, nurture and inspire our people to be positive leaders, by working smarter and by valuing all

Our values are:

impartiality
objectivity

9. About this document

This plan sets out UKEF’s mission, strategy and objectives for 2020–24; these are set out in our message house on the previous page.

This provides a roadmap for the department for the next four-year period as it supports government‑wide efforts to deliver against the Export Strategy, while recognising that UKEF’s role is, in part, to respond to changing patterns of demand through the economic cycle. It also reflects our settlement under the 2019 Spending Review, and our obligations as a government department to manage taxpayers’ resources effectively.

To help us deliver the commitments under this plan, we have developed a Target Operating Model, which provides a blueprint for the department’s capabilities and activities in 2024. Each year, we will produce an operational plan, with specific activities for the year.

We will publish our next Business Plan in 2024.

CEBR and UN DESA ↩

UN DESA and S&P ↩

Is this page useful?

Yes this page is useful
No this page is not useful

Help us improve GOV.UK

Don’t include personal or financial information like your National Insurance number or credit card details.

To help us improve GOV.UK, we’d like to know more about your visit today. Please fill in this survey (opens in a new tab) .

IMAGES

Companies House business plan 2020 to 2021
Government Property Agency
Business Plan Template Uk Gov 3 Things You Didn’t Know About Business
Mapping the “Start a Business” journey on GOV.UK
business development plan example
UK Government Grants For Business: All that you must know

VIDEO

Ballywalter Harbour
UK's Self Sponsorship visa
Business Tips: Starting a business from home
Cllr Andrew Sheldon on the Essex Business Community Pledge
Uk visit visa to work permit
Uk work visa cost

COMMENTS

Write a business plan
A business plan is a written document that describes your business. It covers objectives, strategies, sales, marketing and financial forecasts. A business plan helps you to: You'll need a ...
Help to start-up
Check what you need to do to set up your business and how to get help from government-backed schemes. 1. Register your business. Follow our guidance and set up your business. This includes: 2. Write a business plan. Get detailed information on how to write your business plan and download free business plan templates. 3.
PDF Business Plan 2021-22
DVLA Business Plan 2021-22. 4. Chief Executive's . foreword. On 26 April 2021 we published Driving Change . our new strategic plan which sets out our goals . and vision for the next three years. The plan . is ambitious and builds on the excellent work we have done in recent years to make us the dynamic digital organisation we are today. We
Business and self-employed
Finding finance, business support, writing a business plan. Running a limited company. Includes registering, setting up, company accounts and tax returns ... To help us improve GOV.UK, we'd like ...
PDF The Home Business Guide
The guide covers business essentials like rates, insurance and health and safety considerations as well as practical steps and top tips from those already running a successful business from home. 1 START WITH AN IDEA. AND A PLAN. Finding that bright and brilliant business idea.
Stage 7: business plan
Stage 7: business plan. Published 28 March 2017. 1. Overview. This section sets out the process and areas to consider when developing a business plan. Producing a business plan provides an ...
PDF Business Plan 2023 24
Our 3-year strategic plan is in its final year in 2023-24, and this is the final business plan in that cycle, showing what our focus will be for this year to achieve the aims in the strategic plan. One of our priorities is the continued development of the Driver and Vehicles account, which is a customer facing service hosted on GOV.UK.
PDF Corporate and Business Plans Corporate & Business Plans
Annual Business Plan 10. CEO's Introduction to the Annual Business Plan 32 11. SLC's Performance Focus for 2022-23 34 12. The Customer Lens 36 13. The Frontline Lens 40 ... The four UK Government Administrations are its shareholders. One of HM Government's (HMG) key strategic delivery partners and DfE's largest partner organisation by ...
Business plans and templates
Problem with our site? Ready to craft a winning business plan? Our expert guidance covers market research, strategy, start-up funding, competitor analysis, financial forecasts and more.
Find and update company information
Search the register. Enter company name, number or officer name. Advanced company search. File abridged or full accounts New. Change a registered office address. View company data and document images. Search for disqualified directors. Order certificates and certified documents New. Follow companies.
Business Plan 2022 to 2025
We will deliver a strategic workforce plan for 2025+ which identifies the requirements for the future capacity, capability and structure of our workforce by Q1 2023-24. [1], [2] We will identify ...
Providing services and setting up a business
If you want to provide a service in the UK, you must check what authorisations and licences you will need to obtain. Search online for licences using the Licence finder. Read the guidance on the ...
Agricultural Transition Plan: What is it?
The Agricultural Transition Plan (ATP) outlines the government's strategy for improving agricultural policy following the country's departure from the. ... Swoop Finance helps UK firms access business finance, working directly with businesses and their trusted advisors. We are a credit broker and do not provide loans or other finance products ...
Business Secretary visits British Steel's Scunthorpe site as government
It is the UK's only manufacturer of rail, and the overwhelming majority of Britain's rail tracks are made in Scunthorpe. The company is seeking further government support for its £1.25bn decarbonisation plans and its president said it is committed to "reaching an agreement quickly".
Thames Water is worthless, says biggest investor
Union backlash over Labour's plans to shut down the North Sea The radical new Dutch government is the canary in the EU coal mine Elon Musk to expand Tesla gigafactory rocked by Left-wing protests
DOCX Business Plan 2018-19.docx
This Business Plan sets out what the Secretariat will do in the 2024/25 financial year to achieve this purpose and the resources it will use. Key milestones. In order to meet its objectives, the Secretariat has prepared a Work Programme for 2024/25, setting out its main actions and tasks. ... The Government wants to make the UK the best place ...
Rolls-Royce gets Poland's backing to drive forward nuclear ...
The Polish government is supporting a plan from Rolls-Royce to build nuclear power plants in the country. ... Rolls-Royce SMR's Director of Strategy and Business Development, also welcomed the ...
Growing your business: Plan for growth
improving your products and services by researching and testing changes with your customers. developing new products and services, and selling them to new or existing markets. taking on staff or ...
Heathrow airport hits out over three government policies that are
Britain's busiest airport has attacked the government for "curtailing the UK's global connectivity" by introducing more red tape for transit passengers and scrapping tax-free shopping ...
Money blog: Tourist taxes being imposed across Europe (and in UK
The Greek government has introduced a Climate Crisis Resilience Fee to charge tourists anywhere from €0.50 to €10 per room, per night. The amount depends on the hotel category and the time of ...
DBS business plan: 2021-22
The DBS business plan 2021-22 focuses on the actions we need to take over the next 12 months to deliver strong operational performance and the ambitions set out in our five-year strategy. Quality ...
Highlights from the 28th Annual Webby Awards
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer Empowered Women to Break Molds. Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer took the stage to accept a Webby Award from Amanda Litman, Co-Founder & Co-Executive director of Run for Something, for expertly wielding social media to empower women through her campaign, "Governor Barbie."Even in a moment dedicated to her, she used it to inspire women everywhere to break stereotypes ...
Business Plan for 2021
The Adjudicator, Helen Megarry is pleased to publish the Adjudicator's Office business plan which covers the period 1 September 2021 to 31 March 2024. Business Plan for 2021 - 2024 - GOV.UK ...
GLD Business Plan 2023-24
Details. This business plan outlines the wide range of high profile and complex legal work that will form GLD's delivery priorities for the coming year as well as setting out how we plan to ...
GLD Business Plan 2023-24
Foreword. I am pleased to share the Government Legal Department's (GLD) Business Plan for 2023-24. The past year has yet again seen teams across our department rise to the challenge of ensuring ...
DVLA Business Plan 2022 to 2023
DVLA Measure 2022-23: 1.1 We will dispatch applications made online for a: • driving licence in 3 working days. • vehicle registration certificate in 3 working days. • tachograph in 3 ...
The Growth Plan 2022: documents
Table 4.1: The Growth Plan energy package. This table shows the current estimated direct costs in 2022-23 of the schemes the government has announced to support households and businesses with the ...
DBS business plan 2023 -2024
DBS business plan 2023 -2024. 1. Chairman and Chief Executive's foreword. In 2020, the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) board launched its five-year strategy for the period 2020-25. We are ...
UK Export Finance Business Plan 2020 to 2024
1. Minister's foreword. It gives me great pleasure to present the UK Export Finance Business Plan for 2020-24. The plan reflects and renews the government's ambition for the UK to become an ...