Exporter finance needs at the forefront of key UK trade gatherings on June 15

Exporters, financiers and government representatives gathered in Liverpool on June 15 for a series of key addresses and discussions focused on maintaining the UK’s competitiveness within the global trade and export finance market, with the 2016 instalment of Global Trade Review’s UK Trade & Export Finance Conference taking place at St George’s Hall, followed by the UK Export Excellence Awards.

Featuring as part of the International Festival for Business 2016, the conference benefited from established support from organisations such as UK Export Finance, British Chambers of Commerce, Institute of Export, International Chamber of Commerce and the British Exporters Association, acting as a crucial forum for the UK’s business, government and financial sectors to meet and discuss ongoing trade priorities.

Cathy Newman, Journalist and Broadcaster for Channel 4 News provided Chairperson duties, while topics for discussion during the conference included financing facilities available to exporters, the challenges currently being faced by SMEs, key considerations for first time exporters, and the current state of the UK’s manufacturing sector.

Proceedings began with a keynote interview involving Louis Taylor, Chief Executive Officer at UK Export Finance and Graham Cole, Chairman of RVL Group, Former Chairman of AugustaWestland and author of The Cole Commission, who offered their thoughts on the public and private sector’s role in promoting the UK globally, providing details on current and future plans.

A highlight of the day were the two special courtroom style debates, held in the courtroom of St George’s Hall. Matters up for debate were ‘The verdict on Brexit’ and ‘Trade finance crime in the dock’. Defence and prosecution put forward their arguments, while a jury made up of audience members evaluated both sides.

“This year’s event once again centred on the crucial role of trade and exports in growing the UK economy, bringing senior figures from business and government together to debate key issues, including the importance of achieving joined-up government, priorities for UK multinationals and SMEs alike and the potential implications for UK business interests of Brexit, just 8 days before the forthcoming referendum,” said Peter Gubbins, Managing Director at GTR. “We were also hugely excited to be part of IFB2016, with Liverpool providing a fantastic venue for debate, discussion and networking, while our strategic partnership with The Manufacturer offered great opportunities for manufacturing companies to showcase their export activities, not least during our Export Excellence Awards.”

Following the conference was the UK Export Excellence Awards ceremony and gala dinner, a night of reward, recognition and celebration of the UK export industry, held in partnership with GTR and The Manufacturer. The awards dinner honoured the winners of a number of prestigious industry awards, each judged by an independent panel of experts from some of the UK’s leading institutions. Exporters from across the nation were involved in this closely fought contest, all with their own export success stories to tell.