International trade has taken a bit of beating in recent months, thanks to the combined forces of Brexit and COVID-19. The two colliding factors have placed significant pressure on those businesses which rely heavily on goods journeying to and from the EU, and beyond. As a result, export figures tumbled at the beginning of 2021, following the end of the transition period, with UK exports to the EU falling by 40.7% in January, while imports dropped 28.8 %. They were the largest declines since comparable records began in 1997.

While supply chain issues continued to rumble on last year, the export figures have rebounded, with the latest research from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showing that imports and exports of goods increased in the three months to November 2021 compared with the three months to November 2020. The Government also made a clear statement during International Trade and Investment Week, which was based around the robust theme of ‘Made in the UK, Sold to the World'.

BGF [1]. In the last 10 years, BGF has invested £3bn in over 460 companies. Of that funding, £118m has been ​invested where international growth was a primary reason for funding, with 94 ​portfolio companies operating outside the UK & Ireland. In the first half of 2020, the value of total exports under the BGF portfolio was £600m.