A new shipbuilding lending scheme has been launched which could create hundreds of UK jobs and contribute hundreds of millions of pounds to the UK economy
- Government launches new scheme to help buyers purchase UK-built ships.
- Shipbuilding Credit Guarantee Scheme expected to create hundreds of UK jobs and contribute hundreds of millions to UK economy.
- Part of £4 billion National Shipbuilding Strategy Refresh plan to revitalise UK shipbuilding sector, which contributes £2.8 billion a year to UK economy and supports 42,000 jobs.
A new government scheme to help ship buyers access finance to buy UK-built vessels and upgrade existing ones will boost Britain’s coastal communities.
Through the Shipbuilding Credit Guarantee Scheme (SCGS) the Government will act as a guarantor for lenders, unlocking credit for maritime firms.
It will help to boost the UK shipbuilding industry and drive growth in areas such as Liverpool, Plymouth, the Solent, Rosyth, Clydebank and Belfast.
Minister for Industry and Economic Security Nusrat Ghani said: "Shipbuilding is an integral part of the UK’s industrial identity and through this scheme we are backing our great maritime businesses to get ahead of the competition. With cutting-edge vessels designed and built here in the UK this will be a boost to high-skilled careers and every company involved in the supply chain for shipbuilding, helping us to grow the economy."
The SCGS is expected to create hundreds of new jobs and contribute hundreds of millions of pounds to the economy, according to government estimates based on the demand for commercial shipbuilding in the UK.
The scheme also forms part of the Government’s £4 billion plan to revitalise UK shipbuilding and coastal communities through the National Shipbuilding Strategy Refresh announced last year.
Industry Minister Nusrat Ghani will formally launch the scheme at an event onboard a Thames Clippers’ boat – built at Wight Shipyard, one of the UK firms which stands to benefit from the new scheme – today (26 July) in London.
The SCGS will guarantee a percentage of the value of loans used to purchase, refit, retrofit or repair vessels, sharing the risk with lenders to encourage offers of finance to UK vessel owners and operators.
The shipbuilding industry is a growing part of the UK’s new green economy. Supporting the purchase, construction and repair of high-value vessels will encourage continued investment in innovative, sustainable, low-carbon maritime technologies.
The original announcement is available here.
