On Friday 16th June, local businesses in Fareham gathered at the Lysses House Hotel for the Solent Business Forum. The Solent Business Forum, set up by Suella and Tim Geoghegan, offers local businesses an opportunity to gain insights into how local companies are making a difference and provides a valuable occasion for networking with key businesses in the area.
The event saw UK Export Finance (UKEF) talking to local businesses and manufacturers about making more of international trading opportunities post-Brexit, expanding markets and boosting trade.
Growth is one of the Prime Minister’s top priorities, and the Government recognises the vital role that international trade plays in supporting our economy. Since leaving the EU, the UK has successfully pursued a whole host of Free Trade Agreements with the rest of the world, opening up many new and exciting opportunities to businesses across the UK and in Fareham.
The Government has negotiated new landmark trade deals with its antipodean partners. Deals were recently finalised with Australia and New Zealand, granting the UK unprecedented access to these markets. Ministers have also implemented a high-quality Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) with the EU. The UK-EU TCA is the world’s biggest ever zero-tariff, zero-quota free trade deal.
Similarly, accession to the CPTPP, announced on 31 March 2023, delivers on a post-Brexit agenda for a modern, free-trading global Britain. The UK's membership represents the future of our global trade, partnering with Japan, Canada, Australia, Singapore and New Zealand, and emerging markets such as Mexico, Malaysia and Vietnam. It will add another like-minded partner and strong voice to this powerful alliance, taking the trade bloc’s GDP to £11 trillion. It will give UK businesses tariff-free access on over 99 per cent of goods to a market of around 500 million customers.
To help UK businesses benefit from these newly founded opportunities, UKEF is on a mission to advance prosperity by ensuring no viable UK export fails for lack of finance or insurance, doing so sustainably and at no net cost to the taxpayer.
UKEF works with other government departments – including the Department for Business and Trade and over 100 private lenders as delivery partners, complementing – not competing – with the private sector. UKEF provides support to businesses across a range of sectors and markets with SMEs and sustainability as focus areas, supporting quality jobs, productivity and economic growth.
To date, UKEF has:
- Provided £7.4 billion in support of UK exporters
- Facilitated exports to 61 countries
- Supported 72, 000 jobs
- Overseen £4.3 billion gross value added to the economy
- Supported 545 businesses directly – 81% of which were SMEs – and thousands more indirectly in the supply chain
To learn more about UKEF and how your business could benefit, please visit their website at: https://www.ukexportfinance.gov.uk/
If your business would like to be involved in the next Solent Business Forum, please contact Suella Braverman’s parliamentary office.
Commenting, Suella said:
“Great to be hosting another fantastic Solent Business Forum this summer. My thanks to Tim Geoghegan for working with me over the years to grow the Solent Business Forum into a fruitful network for local businesses.
“We had a very informative discussion with UK Export Finance, who’ve played a vital role in supporting SMEs and larger businesses alike with capitalising on the many opportunities Brexit has presented us. It was great to hear of their successes, such as providing £7.4 billion to UK exporters so far, and to learn of their continued commitment to helping businesses to make the most of expanding markets and new opportunities.
“If you’re a business in Fareham and looking for support with exporting, please do get in touch with UK Export Finance to see how you could benefit. Alternatively, please do contact my office if you’d like any further information.”
