UK Export Finance provides British mid-sized business with £20 million boost
Forum Energy Technologies (UK) Ltd (FET) has secured a £20 million export finance guarantee to support an underwater vehicle supply contract.
A Yorkshire firm has received support from UK Export Finance (UKEF), the UK’s export credit agency, to help secure a significant overseas contract.
Forum Energy Technologies (UK) Ltd (FET), a medium sized business, specialises in the development of oil-field technologies and recently secured a £20 million export finance guarantee.
The guarantee supports an HSBC bank loan to Norwegian company, DOF Subsea AS, in its purchase of six remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) from FET. The vehicles will be used in subsea oil and gas exploration work. DOF Subsea is a leading provider of subsea services to the oil and gas industry. It has one of the largest and most sophisticated subsea fleet of vessels, dive systems and ROVs in the world.
David Havelock, UK Export Finance Chief Executive, said:
“The Government is determined to help UK businesses of all sizes to win contracts overseas. In the case of Forum Energy Technologies, its customer needed a £20 million loan to commit to the deal. We were able to provide a guarantee to its bank, which was then able to approve the loan. As a result, FET secured a significant new contract.
“This deal shows that securing business overseas is for all companies, not just the large corporate brands. This was the second FET transaction that UKEF has supported in the past 12 months and we are currently considering support for another.”
Simone Pizzolato, Commercial Manager of Forum Energy Technologies, said:
“The availability of UK Export Finance support is essential and has definitely increased our ability to bid and win export contracts in new and developing markets. The process is normally quite straightforward and smooth thanks to the cooperation and expertise of the UK Export Finance team.”
Jan Nore, Executive Vice President of DOF Subsea, said:
“Forum Subsea Technologies Ltd has a proven track record with providing us with high quality reliable ROV systems. UK Export Finance support made continuing that relationship possible through its support for this transaction.”
The guarantee was made through a Buyer Credit scheme, which is typically available for export contract from £5 million to over £100 million and can help large, medium and smaller firms do business overseas.