UK Export Finance
Strategic partnership
Government-backed export finance, now accessible to the veteran business community. Veterans bring leadership and mission focus to business. This partnership makes sure they also have the financial backing to take it global.
Veterans bring resilience and a mission focus to business. This partnership gives them the financial tools to match.
UK Export Finance is the government’s export credit agency. Finance for Forces is a regulated commercial finance brokerage built specifically for the armed forces community. Together, we ensure that veteran-led businesses seeking to export are matched with the right support at the right time, with n
what this means for you
Government-backed finance for veteran exporters
Many veteran-led businesses do not know that the government actively supports UK exporters through guarantees, working capital facilities, and trade insurance. UKEF does not lend directly. Instead, it reduces the risk that commercial banks carry, making it possible for viable businesses to access funding they might otherwise be declined for.
Finance for Forces can introduce eligible clients to UKEF’s short-term products and work with them to identify the right route. UKEF will also refer veteran-led businesses looking for commercial finance to Finance for Forces where appropriate. The result is a joined-up process, from initial enquiry to funded solution, with no handoffs into the unknown.
The partnership also supports the UK Government’s Veterans Strategy, launched in November 2025, which recognises veterans as national assets whose skills strengthen the economy and national security. Improving access to export finance is a direct contribution to that aim.
UKEF short term products
Three routes to export finance
UKEF’s short-term products are designed for small UK exporters. The three most relevant to businesses within the Finance for Forces community are set out below.
Eligibility criteria vary, and the right product depends on your trading history, your contract position, and what you need the funding to do.
That is where Finance for Forces adds its value: helping you understand the options and approach the right lender with the right case.
General Export Facility - GEF
Export Working Capital Scheme - EWCS
Export Working Capital Scheme - EWCS
UKEF’s most widely used product. Designed for established UK exporters who need working capital to fulfil overseas orders.
The scheme provides a guarantee to your bank covering up to 80% of their lending risk, making it easier to access facilities you might otherwise be declined for or offered on less favourable terms.
Requires at least 20% of annual turnover from UK exports in one of the last three financial years, or at least 5% in each of the last three years.
Export Working Capital Scheme - EWCS
Export Working Capital Scheme - EWCS
Export Working Capital Scheme - EWCS
For businesses without an established export track record.
If your business has secured its first overseas contract but does not yet have the export history that GEF requires, EWCS may be the right route.
There is no minimum export history requirement, but there must be a contract in place with an overseas buyer.
Requires a live or intended contract with an overseas buyer. The exporter must be based in the UK, Isle of Man or Channel Islands.
Export insurance policy - EXIP
Export Working Capital Scheme - EWCS
Export insurance policy - EXIP
Protection against non-payment by an overseas buyer.
Covers buyer insolvency, contract termination by the buyer, and specified political or economic events affecting the market. Particularly useful when dealing with a single buyer, working in higher-risk markets, or when private sector trade credit insurance is unavailable or insufficient.
Can cover up to 95% of the contract value. Available for single contracts, repeat contracts with one buyer, and most sectors.
how to access the supoprt
start with a conversation
Speak with Paul directly. The right starting point is understanding your business, your export ambitions, and where you currently stand with lenders. No forms, no automated processes.
Identify the right product
Finance for Forces will assess which UKEF facility is appropriate based on your trading history, contract position, and the specific funding requirement. Eligibility varies between products and not every route will suit every business.
Introduction to the right lender
Finance for Forces will introduce you to a participating bank with the right appetite for your case. UKEF’s guarantee covers up to 80% of the bank’s risk, which changes the conversation significantly.
Regional and government support
UKEF’s regional network can also connect businesses with the Department for Business and Trade to help understand new markets and begin the export journey properly. This is part of what the partnership unlocks.
UKEF does not lend directly to businesses
It provides guarantees to participating banks, covering up to 80% of their credit risk on qualifying export facilities. The bank retains 20% of the risk and still needs to be satisfied that the business is creditworthy.
Our veterans have shown extraordinary bravery and dedication in service to the nation, and their skills should be matched by real commercial opportunity. This partnership will help turn entrepreneurial ambition into export success.
Chris Bryant MP, Minister of State for Trade
Supporting small businesses to export and grow is central to UKEF’s mission. By partnering with Finance for Forces, we can reach more veteran-led businesses and help them access the finance they need to win international contracts and scale up with confidence.
Tim Reid CEO, UK Export Finance
Veterans bring leadership, resilience and a mission focus to business. But navigating commercial finance can be challenging. This partnership will help veteran-led firms understand their options and access the backing they need to develop exports and accelerate growth.
Paul Goodman Co-Founder, Finance for Forces
government context
The Veterans Strategy
The UK Government’s Veterans Strategy, launched in November 2025, recognises veterans as national assets. Their leadership experience, adaptability, and mission discipline are skills that the wider economy benefits from when veterans are able to put them to work in business.
The partnership between Finance for Forces and UKEF contributes directly to that strategy’s aim of harnessing veterans’ enterprise skills and supporting their economic contribution. Improving access to commercial and export finance is foundational to that. A veteran who cannot access the funding to grow cannot fully apply the skills that military service developed.
This is the gap Finance for Forces was built to close. The UKEF partnership extends that work into international markets.
Veterans as National Assets
The Veterans Strategy recognises the economic and social contribution that veterans and the armed forces community make across the UK, and commits to improving access to enterprise, employment, and financial support.
Thinking about exporting? Start with a conversation.
If your business is looking to grow internationally and you want to understand what UKEF support could look like in practice, the right first step is a direct conversation.
No forms, no obligations. Just an honest assessment of where you stand and what is available to you.
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Registered in England and Wales no. 15713051. Registered office: 5 Prospect Place, Millennium Way, Pride Park, Derby, DE24 8HG.
Finance for Forces is a trading style of North Star Commercial Finance Limited which is an independent commercial finance broker not a lender, as such can introduce you to a wide range of commercial finance providers depending on your requirements and individual circumstances.
We are not independent financial advisors and so are unable to provide you with independent financial advice. Finance for Forces typically receive a payment from the finance provider if you decide to enter into an agreement with them. This will be disclosed with full transparency upon engagement.
North Star Commercial Finance Limited trading as Finance for Forces is an Appointed Representative of Goodman Corporate Consultancy Ltd which is Authorised and Regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority No. 733340