Yorkshire family brewery taps into new export opportunities with Government guarantee
Source: gov.uk (2025-11-25)

UKEF support helps Wold Top brewery to expand its exports into new markets.

Wold Top Brewery is a family-owned business, brewing for over 20 years

The business exports to Italy, Sweden, Switzerland and Germany

A £200,000 trade loan backed by UK Export Finance has enabled continued export growth

Driffield-based Wold Top Brewery, which produces a range of beers using local ingredients, is increasing its export portfolio to Europe and North America with the backing of UK Export Finance (UKEF) – the government’s export credit agency.

Wold Top Brewery began its journey in 2003, when farmers Tom and Gill were looking at different ways to sustain the family farm. Using the barley and malt grown on their land, alongside their on-site water supply, they hit on brewing as their answer – with the support of a farm diversification grant.

Within just five years of operation, the brewery celebrated its first export milestone – sending its beers to Italy, a market it proudly continues to serve today.

The success of Wold Top’s beers led to increasing orders from Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, Germany, and Canada. But with this growth came a classic exporter’s dilemma: the need for additional cash flow to smooth out the interval between shipment, delivery and payment.

The solution came in the form of a referral to UKEF by their bank, Virgin Money.

With the backing of UKEF’s General Export Facility (GEF) (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/general-export-facility), which provides guarantees to help exporters access a range of trade finance facilities, Virgin Money was able to provide Wold Top with a trade loan for the value of up to £200,000.

With this support, Wold Top has been able to fulfil new orders to Europe and North America. And following the recent installation of a canning line, the brewery has increased its offering to their overseas clients with a new range of canned beers. As cans are lighter than glass bottles, this enables Wold Top to ship greater volumes more efficiently and sustainably.

The support from UKEF has aided the local economy, with Wold Top looking to source locally where possible and currently employing over 20 people from the local area. The brewery has gone from strength to strength and is now four times larger than when the business first began.

Looking ahead, Wold Top plans to expand its product range and start exporting to Spain, showing how UKEF’s support helps drive growth and open up new opportunities for UK businesses.

Manuel Fantin, Humberside, South & East Yorkshire Export Finance Manager at UKEF, commented:

It is so rewarding to support a small family-run business and help the company’s continued growth. Wold Top are supporting the local economy through their farm-based production process and their expanding portfolio of export orders. The General Export Facility is ideal for just this, providing extra financing to manage new orders or expand exports.

Kate Balchin, Managing Director at Wold Top Brewery, said:

Working with UK Export Finance has been critical to our continued success. This support has been particularly important when managing cash flow for exports to countries such as Italy, which have longer payment terms. This business means a lot to my family, with the farm having been started by my great-grandfather. The backing from UKEF and Virgin Money has helped us grow and take our beer international.

Peter Hough, Commercial Director – Strategic Finance at Virgin Money, said:

Providing Wold Top Brewery with access to finance is a great example of how we at Virgin Money look to empower small businesses. The support for UKEF has allowed us to reduce our risk and be able to continually provide support for businesses, like Wold Top Brewery, aiming to continue their export growth.

Over the last financial year, UKEF provided a record £14.5 billion in new financing, helping over 667 UK companies to export and grow, supporting up to 70,000 jobs across the country.

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