A significant growth in the portfolio of the British Business Bank enabled it to return to profit as it prepares for a broader role in the UK government’s plans to stimulate investment.
The development bank has been wholly-owned by the government since 2014 and its investment portfolio has increased in value by 19% to £4.7 billion, according to its annual report.
It generated a pre-tax profit of £144 million in its last financial year — after two consecutive years of losses, including a £131 million loss in the 12 months to March 2024 — boosted by the performance of its investments.
The bank, based in Sheffield, provides wholesale finance to equity and debt providers but can also invest up to £60 million directly in individual companies.
Labour has tasked it with establishing the British Growth Partnership to encourage more UK pension fund investment into the UK’s fast-growth companies.
Louis Taylor, chief executive of the bank and a former boss of UK Export Finance, the government’s export credit agency, said its activities from the last year were forecast to create 38,000 extra jobs and £8 billion of gross value added “over the life of the finance”.
About 1,500 smaller businesses in Scotland received financial support in the 2024/25 financial year.
The Bank’s second annual Impact Report estimates that £800 million in additional business turnover, equivalent to a £400m boost to economic output will be generated by Scottish businesses backed by the Bank over the lifetime of their finance.
An additional 1,600 jobs are expected to be created over time, with around 16,000 jobs already supported. Scottish businesses represented around 6% of all firms newly supported by the Bank during the 12 month period – in line with the share of the UK’s business population.
One of the key drivers of this impact is the Bank’s £150m Investment Fund for Scotland, which this month announced it has delivered more than £25m to Scottish businesses since it launched 18 months ago, supporting 58 firms across the country.
A further £26m in private sector funding has been committed, bringing the total investment into Scotland to more than £52m.
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