Ilkley-based company Spooner Industries has agreed a major deal to export its products to the Philippines.

The company, which specialises in designing and manufacturing industrial ovens, will supply drying equipment for the paper industry.

The export deal is worth £4.12 million to Spooner, and was secured through a £1.65 million trade facility designed to mitigate international trade risk.

The agreement consists of a ‘partial rolling confirmation’ structure and provides cover on a shipment-by-shipment basis rather than on the entire order value.

The UK’s export credit agency, the Export Credits Guarantee Department (ECGD) underwrote £823,700 of the risk mitigation backing provided by Lloyds Banking Group. The risk-share agreement is a government scheme designed to encourage UK businesses to export.

Mike Brook, Managing Director of the West Yorkshire firm, said: “The supply contract to our buyer in the Far East is a very significant size and thus the mitigation of payment risk was a vital element in enabling us to export our goods.

“The bank’s participation in the ECGD Letter of Credit Guarantee Scheme provided a risk-share arrangement that ultimately proved invaluable in meeting our needs.”

Trade Director at Lloyds, Simon Heighes, said: “We have enjoyed a long-standing relationship with Spooner Industries and were keen to offer them an innovative trade finance offering that would be both convenient and help the company reduce their costs.

“The structure we proposed made a significant difference to the bottom line to Spooner for mitigating their international trade risk and they have indicated that they have upcoming transactions for which they plan to work with Lloyds Banking Group.”

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