Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne has announced the first contract to be supported by UK Export Finance’s enhanced Direct Lending Facility (DLF).
The availability of a £34 million loan from the UK’s export credit agency has helped Carillion to secure a significant contract with Dubai World Trade Centre LLC to provide construction services.
The Chancellor also welcomed the announcement by UK Export Finance appointing 20 financial organisations to its panel of partners to help deliver loans under the Direct Lending Facility.
Deutsche Bank have acted as partners in arranging the loan in support of the Carillion deal and will also be providing a further £34 million, guaranteed by UK Export Finance.
The announcements come as part of the Chancellor’s overhaul of UK Export Finance announced at Budget aimed at giving Britain the most competitive export finance offer in Europe.
Announcing the deal, George Osborne said:
“Helping British companies to access global markets is a key part of our long term economic plan.
So today I’m delighted to announce the first deal supported by UK Export Finance’s Direct Lending Facility (DLF), along with the twenty financial institutions that are going to help us deliver the loans.
It is great to see successful companies like Carillion winning contracts around the world. Today’s deal, the first in a pipeline of many, will help us reverse the age old trend of not exporting enough, boosting growth and creating jobs.
Carillion Chief Executive, Richard Howson, which is the first UK exporter to be supported by a Direct Lending Facility loan to its client, Dubai World Trade Centre LLC, commented:
“This is a significant and very important contract for Carillion, which will help us to build on our success in the Middle East and make further progress with our strategic objective of growing our business in the region.”
“The Direct Lending Facility is a major new development that is providing us with the support we need to achieve our export goals.”
David Godfrey, Chief Executive of UK Export Finance described the deal as a key milestone in the delivery of the £3 billion Direct Lending Facility.
According to the British Bankers Association, the DLF means that export finance will be cheaper and easier for businesses to access.
The enhanced DLF was announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in March 2014 - many transactions are now under active consideration, ranging in value from £5 million to over £500 million.
The new arrangements are intended to make it easier for the buyers of UK exports to access the loans - extending the global reach of UK exporters.
Barhale has completed work on two separate Rapid Action Taskforce Spills projects it is carrying out for Severn Trent.
Börger UK, which has firmly established itself as a leading pump brand since it was set up in Staffordshire in 2004, has moved into bigger, brand-new premises in Shrewsbury.
HUBER Technology UK & Ireland are inviting people to register for their March webinar where they will be providing information about HUBER water intake screens for municipal and industrial applications.
Sulzer has launched a new global Center of Excellence (CoE) for Water Treatment Solutions - the CoE consolidates Sulzer’s wastewater treatment expertise in a unified and global manner.
Hear how Scottish Water has completed its £235 million Ayrshire Glasgow Resilience Project - customers across Greater Glasgow, Ayrshire and East Renfrewshire will now benefit from a more secure and resilient water supply.
Hear how United Utilities is accelerating its investment to reduce spills from storm overflows across the Northwest.
Find out more about the remarkable career opportunities on offer at WSP - scroll down to watch the inspirational video.