The state-owned British Business Bank (BBB) has reported an annual pre-tax loss of more than £147 million. The value of the companies in which the bank had invested decreased as a result of the economic difficulties. Despite the challenging economic climate, the BBB noted that it signed funding agreements worth £1.6 billion during the year.
Established in 2014, the BBB's purpose is to provide funding and acquire stakes in small UK businesses to support their growth and expansion. In the 12 months up to March, the value of the bank's investments decreased by £146 million, a 5% decline, compared to a gain of £619 million in the previous year.
In recent months, technology company valuations have decreased globally as investors have become more cautious due to rising borrowing costs and weak economic growth. The CEO of the bank, Louis Taylor, expressed that despite the fluctuations during the year, they anticipate an overall upward trajectory given the longer-term nature of their investments.
The BBB has funded over 90,000 businesses with a total funding amount of £12.4 billion, surpassing its £10.7 billion target. It is worth noting that this figure does not include the Coronavirus loans managed by the BBB.
The bank also administers the government's Covid-19 loan schemes and Future Fund, which collectively provided over £80 billion in financing to almost 1.7 million businesses. These schemes are no longer accepting new applications.
The Start-Up Loans program, operated by the BBB, has recently surpassed £1 billion in lending. More than half of this funding has gone to small businesses owned by women and ethnic minorities. The scheme aims to support underrepresented groups who often face exclusion from traditional lenders, particularly in regions outside of London and southeast England. The majority of the funding for this programme comes from lenders outside of the UK's established large banks.
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