British Business Bank celebrates 250,000 job creation over first decade
The British Business Bank has revealed its business funding programmes have supported the creation of 250,000 jobs in its first 10 years.
The Sheffield-headquartered bank was set up in 2013, with then-business secretary Vince Cable describing the state-owned economic development bank as providing “long term support for long term investment and growth in the UK”.
The Bank’s creation was based on an identified gap in the market and the measure of its success has always been tied to how its funding underpins private investment to accelerate growth.
It has put £6.3bn into smaller businesses around the country, which has been deployed alongside £10.0bn of guaranteed lending and £16.1bn of private sector capital.
The Bank has today published Power of 10, an impact report into its first 10 years, which says that funding will ultimately result in 250,000 new jobs, business turnover increasing by £97bn, and productivity being boosted by adding £43bn of gross value added (GVA).
Matt Adey, chief economist of the British Business Bank, told TheBusinessDesk.com: “When we started this exercise of looking at the impact of what we’ve done so far, it was very good to see that was well spread across the regions of the UK.
“Inevitably, we’ve had a bigger impact in London because more finance has gone there, because that’s where a lot of the bigger, more rapidly-growing businesses are.
“84% of deals that we’ve been involved in are outside of London, and the impact in every nation and region of the UK is significant in terms of job supported, jobs created – that’s very pleasing to see.”
The Bank’s programmes include its £1.6bn Nations and Regions funds, such as the Northern Powerhouse and Midlands Engine Investment Funds which launched their second funds last year.
The regional focus is a key aspect of the Bank addressing long-standing disparities in the availability of and access to finance and is designed to strengthen regional finance ecosystems.
“We’ve gone from a relatively small collection of piecemeal activity and have built up a coherent offer which is having impact for entrepreneurs, for existing businesses, with debt finance and equity finance.”
The British Business Bank’s chief executive Louis Taylor is looking ahead to the central role it will have in the planned British Growth Partnership, announced in October, which will encourage more UK pension fund investment into the UK’s fastest growing, most innovative companies.
He said: “The catalytic impact of the British Business Bank and impressive track record crowding in private funding will become even more crucial as we establish the British Growth Partnership, subject to regulatory approval, unlocking the huge potential of UK pension funds and other institutional investors in venture capital funds and the UK’s innovative businesses.”
