Trade Finance for Import & Export Businesses

The core problem in international trade is timing and trust. Your supplier in Shenzhen or Dhaka wants payment before they ship. Your UK buyer wants goods before they pay. You are the business stuck in the middle, and a standard overdraft does nothing to bridge that gap.\n\nA letter of credit (LC) is the instrument that moves first. The bank issues it on your behalf, promising payment to the supplier once they present shipping documents that match the LC terms. The supplier ships because the bank has committed, not because they trust you. You settle with the bank once goods land. That is the mechanic, and it is why trade finance is categorically different from a working capital loan.\n\nFor import businesses, the facility typically covers 80 to 100% of the invoice value for the transit period, 30 to 180 days depending on the trade lane and the terms you have negotiated with your supplier. For exporters the question is usually the reverse: how do you offer competitive payment terms to a buyer abroad without wrecking your own cash flow? That is where UKEF-backed export finance and supply chain finance come in.\n\nThe lenders who say yes to this are almost never the high street. Barclays and HSBC will look at you if your annual trade volume clears £1M and you have been trading three years plus. Below that, you are into specialist trade finance houses, where the minimum is typically £100k annual trade. We are a broker, and we place deals across both tiers rather than pushing you at one name.\n\nOne honest caveat: multi-currency facilities add complexity. If you are buying in USD and selling in GBP, the FX exposure sits with you unless you hedge separately. No trade finance lender prices the currency risk away for you.