The British Business Bank has reported its largest profit since 2021-22 and supported a total of £9.4bn of finance for smaller businesses in the 2025-26 financial year.

The UK government’s economic development bank returned statutory pre-tax profits of £426m according to its annual report for 2025-26, up from £144m of profit generated in the previous year.

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The British Business Bank’s third annual impact report, published alongside its annual report and accounts, revealed that in 2025-26, it supported a total of £9.4bn of finance for smaller businesses, £4.3bn of which was private capital crowded in by the Bank.

Public funding accounted for £1.3bn, while the remaining £3.7bn came through lending the Bank guaranteed.

This enabled the British Business Bank to support 30,000 businesses that had not previously received Bank-supported funding, as well as 8,000 that received follow-on funding in 2025-26.

Meanwhile, it reported that 87 per cent of the newly-supported businesses were located outside of London.

Over the life of the finance, it is expected to contribute to the creation of 39,000 additional jobs and to support 340,000 existing jobs, as well as £19.7bn of additional business turnover, equivalent to an £8.8bn expected increase in UK economic output.

The finance will provide a boost of more than £100m to gross value added (GVA) in every UK nation and region, the Bank said.

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“In 2025-26 the British Business Bank stepped up both the size and reach of its investments and deepened its support to strengthen the UK’s banking and alternative finance landscape for smaller businesses,” said Louis Taylor, chief executive of the British Business Bank.

“With increased capacity for new funded commitments of £2.5bn a year, alongside issuing £2.1bn annually in guarantees, we are building momentum as we continue to invest at record levels and become a more confident, visible presence across the UK’s equity and debt finance markets. This year has started strongly.”

Stephen Welton, chair of the British Business Bank, added: “At a time when the UK must increase growth in every part of the country the role of the Bank, working closely with key partners on a local basis, is to do just that, targeting by 2030 up to 370,000 new jobs and up to £57bn of additional GVA under our five-year strategic plan. These results show how the Bank is scaling up to deliver that.”

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