British Business Bank invested £527 million into UK businesses

The British Business Bank invested £527 million into the UK’s small businesses from 2015 to 2016, according to its annual performance review.

The government-owned bank increased finance to small companies by 45 per cent in 2015 and now works with 90 finance partners to support over 48,000 businesses. The bank revealed that it took on nine new partners from 2015 to 2016.

Awareness

According to the bank, it has helped businesses to have a better understanding of their finance options, with awareness of different types of funding increasing to 48 per cent, up from 45 per cent from 2014 to 2015.

The bank currently supports over £3.1 billion of finance to SMEs and a further £4.4 billion to small mid-cap companies, which are companies with market capitalisation of between $2 billion and $10 billion.

The annual performance review also showed that £85 million of new investment capacity has been enabled by the bank’s Enterprise Capital Funds Programme, which brings the total investment capacity to over £650 million.

Potential

Commenting on the figures, British Business Bank CEO, Keith Morgan, stated that during the year, the bank has developed new finance initiatives that serve the needs of smaller businesses and that it has supported the government’s “key priorities” and delivered on its return target.

He added: “As we enter a period of increased uncertainty, we will redouble our efforts to support key segments of the small business finance market, helping the UK’s smaller businesses realise their potential.”