SPENDING REVIEW - BBB RESPONDS



November 27th, 2020.


The government has announced a number of measures to support smaller businesses, to be delivered by the British Business Bank.


Catherine Lewis La Torre, Chief Executive, British Business Bank, said: “The Chancellor has confirmed the British Business Bank’s budgets for 2021/22, as well as announcing expansion in some areas. This package enables us to build on our work to date, including in response to Covid-19, so that we can continue to support smaller businesses in the UK and build the foundations for the recovery.”

The announcements include:

Ongoing Activities
The government has confirmed that throughout 2021/22 it will continue to provide the British Business Bank with the resources to help make finance markets work better for smaller businesses across the UK, so that they can prosper and grow.

Covid-19 Support Schemes
Since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic the British Business Bank has delivered three loan guarantee schemes, providing close to 1.5 million businesses across the UK with over £65 billion of support. The British Business Bank has also launched the Future Fund, helping nearly 900 early stage growth businesses that otherwise would not have been able to access the finance they needed. These programmes form an important part of the government’s economic response to the pandemic, and the British Business Bank welcomes confirmation that funding for the appropriate people, structures, systems and processes to effectively manage the support it has deployed will continue to be in place.

Start Up Loans
British Business Bank welcomed the government’s announcement that it will increase funding for the British Business Bank’s Start Up Loans programme so that it can provide 1,000 more loans in 2021/22 than were originally funded in the March 2020 Budget. Even more business owners across the UK will now be able to access the finance they need to start a business.

Record numbers of potential business owners have accessed the British Business Bank’s Start Up Loans programme during the Covid-19 pandemic, and this expanded funding will allow the programme to play an important role in the UK’s economic recovery.

Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund
Since its launch in 2017, the £400m Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund has benefited more than 700 smaller businesses across the North West, Yorkshire and the Humber and Tees Valley regions, increasing employment, skills, turnover and investment for recipient businesses. More recently, the Fund’s activity has helped support businesses during the Covid-19 pandemic. The government recognises the success of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund and is providing the Fund with sufficient resources to commit an additional £100m in 2021/22.

Financing High-Growth Firms
Since the 2017 Patient Capital Review, the British Business Bank has provided substantial support for innovative, high-growth businesses seeking access to long-term growth capital. Innovative businesses are essential to driving increased productivity across the UK, and is pleased that the government has provided the Bank with the resources to commit an additional £100 million to innovation and growth finance in 2021/22, as well as a further £70 million for the National Security Strategic Investment Fund.

British Business Bank will continue to work closely with HM Treasury, the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy and UKGI to deliver on the Spending Review announcements over the coming year.
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