When you think about UK exports, you might picture products flowing across our borders – from cars and jet engines, to clothes and whisky. But where things are truly booming is in selling services to global markets.
In fact, the UK is the second-largest services exporter in the world, with professional skills, including financial, creative and digital expertise, being appreciated in markets globally. In 2022, service exports reached a record £397bn.
We met three service-oriented SMEs which have embraced the opportunity to grow overseas, drawing on the support of the Department for Business and Trade (DBT), which helps companies of all sizes fulfil their export potential.
Space to create
“We’re a modern creative agency,” says Dafydd Prichard, director of Leicester-based company Cite. “We focus on all of the really fundamental creative requirements around brands, particularly the strategy and brand thinking that forms the foundation for so much communication.
“The brands we work with all operate in really noisy marketplaces, so to stand out they need to have a voice and proposition that distinguishes them from the competition – and that’s what we help them achieve. We bring brands to life through the language they use and their visual articulation.”
Cite has expanded its reach overseas – primarily the Nordic countries – and works with global brands, including Santander, Continental and Kenwood. Recently, Cite has started working with Harvard University in the US, too.
Cite’s export journey began when its successes in the UK led to new, fruitful connections in Europe. “Our work in the UK with a Norwegian tech brand led to introductions at their HQ in Oslo,” says Prichard. “We were hired to rebrand one of their new operations, and our contacts there introduced us to a number of software-based B2B companies. Exporting was already part of our future plans, but that relationship started the ball rolling.”
Today, exporting counts for more than 30% of Cite’s business, and Prichard is excited by the opportunities beyond UK shores, given there are tens of thousands of agencies competing in the UK. “We’re all chasing the same markets – it’s pretty saturated,” he explains. “English is the business language in most of continental Europe, and a British creative company like Cite can provide a cultural bridge between mainland Europe and the wider global community.”
Although much of Cite’s exporting success has been organic, the business has taken advantage of what DBT can offer when it comes to seizing new opportunities. “The best marketing for us is pressing the flesh, and DBT puts on networking events that allow us to meet potential clients face to face,” says Prichard. “There’s no substitute for that in-person representation, and DBT facilitates that for us.”
Credit where it’s due
Fintech brand DirectID – a credit and risk platform – is equally keen to embrace new markets. As a remote-first business, it can seamlessly expand across borders, and aims to use its expertise to improve the financial ecosystem in developing countries.
“We build insights, credit scores and predictive models using bank transactions, which helps people to access credit who might not otherwise be able to,” says Clare McCaffery, the Scottish firm’s chief commercial officer. “From day one, it’s been our goal to be an international business that improves financial inclusion.” Access to credit is important, she adds, as many people in emerging markets such as India would use it to improve their family’s standard of living, for instance by paying for their children’s education.
DirectID’s first foray into exporting was an impressive one: providing data to one of the top three personal loan providers in the US. Now, having exported to 46 countries so far, McCaffery believes more SMEs in this sector should be open to international opportunities.
“We’ve seen organisations in our space deciding to focus only on the UK,” she says. “But credit bureaus are fairly dominant here – most people have a bank account and a credit history. There’s a greater need for what we do elsewhere.
“One of the benefits of exporting is that we’re not susceptible to changes and macroeconomic events in any one country, which is a huge advantage.”
Shaping societies
Specialising in healthcare and justice systems, Agencia is another small firm that exports its expertise to make a difference. Since its foundation in 1997, the Hull-based consultancy has worked both in the UK and overseas to reform governments’ judicial capabilities, transform healthcare services, and develop integrated strategies for organisations, ultimately improving communities and changing lives.
“We’ve got niche, specialist, British expertise, which has helped us build our reputation,” says managing director Helen Gibson, who was awarded an MBE for her services to international trade. “Where countries need specialists in areas such as [anti-]corruption, counterterrorism, court services or health, that’s where we step in.”
Agencia’s first international project involved a partnership with Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and the Ministry of Defence, ensuring British soldiers stationed in Germany had access to high standards of healthcare. This encouraged the business to open itself up to further opportunities, which has included setting up a probation service in Macedonia, and providing training to a police force in the Caribbean to help improve its investigative practice.
“One of the most critical pieces of work we did in terms of exporting was for the British Embassy, supporting courts in Croatia,” says Gibson. “We became known for our work in the western Balkans, and one country led to another.” Agencia now sells its services to more than 20 countries, with exports accounting for more than 75% of the firm’s sales.
“Some of our export growth has been due to design and planning, while other opportunities have come about when one thing has led to another,” says Gibson. “But our long-term strategy has always included working with DBT, along with other organisations like the [British] Chamber of Commerce, so we can strategically grow our international work.”
Gibson says there’s a perception that doing business with other countries is going to be tough: “I’ve seen SMEs asking questions like: ‘What about regulation?’ or ‘What about not being paid?’ But it’s not as difficult as people might think. As well as practical support, DBT is there to offer moral support and advice. We’ve never felt like we’ve been on our own.
“I’d encourage any other service sector SMEs looking at exporting to take advantage of whatever help is available, and to enjoy the ride. It will be an adventure, and it won’t always go according to plan – but there are some fantastic opportunities to be had.”
Wherever you are on your exporting journey, the Department for Business and Trade can help. Access a wide range of free support and find out how your business can sell to the world at great.gov.uk.
