BBB has delivered £12.2bn to 96,000 SMEs
The British Business Bank (BBB) has delivered approximately £12.2bn of finance to 96,000 smaller businesses across the UK, including almost 83,000 businesses outside of London.
According to the BBB’s latest financial statement, the Bank also achieved an adjusted return of 18.2 per cent during the 12 months ending 31 March 2022, exceeding its targets.
“The BBB has successfully delivered against the strategic priorities we set at the beginning of the year,” said Catherine Lewis La Torre (pictured), chief executive of the BBB.
“We have increased our impact and market reach to smaller businesses across the UK’s regions and nations and designed innovative programmes while at the same time generating an attractive return on capital employed.
“We have also made good progress on embedding our revised mission, with sustainable growth at its core, into everything we do.”
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The latest BBB update also found that the Bank met its objective to promote better engagement with small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and the UK government.
However, Lewis La Torre added that the upcoming financial year could prove more challenging given the “serious headwinds that the economy is encountering.”
“Despite this success over the last financial year, we are aware that areas of economic and geopolitical uncertainty remain,” she said.
“The serious headwinds that the economy is encountering make a national economic development bank an invaluable strategic asset, and we are ready and prepared to play whatever role is required to support UK smaller businesses.”
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Lord Smith of Kelvin, chair of the BBB, added: “We know that things remain tough for many smaller businesses as they work to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic so the importance of both financial and non-financial support for smaller businesses should not be underestimated.
“Supporting smaller businesses in challenging and uncertain times is absolutely what the BBB is for.
“The flexibility designed into the way we operate means that our role in supporting their access to finance can adapt to the prevailing economic circumstances, and we stand ready to do what is needed in both good times and bad.”
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