British Business Bank boosts South East economy by £800m as 3,500 businesses secure support in 2024/25

• 3,400 additional jobs expected to be created and 23,500 jobs supported

• £2bn of additional business turnover expected over the lifetime of the finance, equivalent to an extra £800m of economic output

Today, the British Business Bank has published its second annual Impact Report, detailing its performance across the UK over the past year, including the South East of England.

Of the businesses newly supported by the British Business Bank, 14% originate in the South East of England. This has enabled the Bank to support 3,500 businesses across the region that hadn’t received Bank-supported funding before.

The South-East, home to some of the UK’s most prestigious academic institutions and innovative university spinout businesses, boasts 22% of angel investors in the UK 2023/24.[1] Therefore, ensuring the region’s businesses have access to the finance they need is crucial to support economic growth.

Today’s Impact Report comes as the Bank’s reach was boosted in June’s Spending Review, where it saw its financial capacity increased to £25.6bn, enabling it to increase annual investments to around £2.5bn a year and crowd in more third party capital.

The recent uplift includes a new investment fund for the South East of England, giving the region’s businesses access to a percentage of a further £350m in finance from the British Business Bank.

The report underlines the Bank’s continued commitment to the South East and wider Nations and regions. 84% of the businesses supported by the Bank in 2024/25 were based outside of London - helping to deliver more than a £100m boost to economic output over the lifetime of the finance in each and every UK Nation and region.

Louis Taylor, CEO, British Business Bank, said: “In a busy and productive 2024/25, the British Business Bank amplified its role, delivering significant impact in driving economic growth and innovation and playing its part in the economic transformation of the UK’s Nations and regions.

“It is pleasing to be returning a profit this year, following two years of unrealised statutory losses due to the unwind of significant accelerated valuation gains experienced during the Covid-19 period. Our activities in 2024/25 are expected to produce an impact of 38,000 additional jobs and £8.0bn of gross value added over the life of the finance.

“At the same time, the recent announcement of a new regional investment fund for the East of England, unlocking a further £350m for local businesses, underlines our commitment and support for the region.”

The national picture

Across the UK in 2024/25, the Bank supported a total of £6.8bn of finance for smaller businesses - £1.2bn of our public funding, £2.6bn of lending guaranteed and an additional £3.0bn of private capital crowded in.

This enabled the Bank to support 24,000 businesses that hadn’t received Bank-supported funding before, as well as 4,000 that were first funded by the Bank before 2024/25. 84% of the businesses supported were outside of London

The expected impacts over the life of this finance are:

• The creation of 38,000 additional jobs

• £18.0bn of additional business turnover, equivalent to an extra £8.0bn of economic output

• A more than £100m boost to economic output in each and every UK Nation and region