British Business Bank response to Autumn Budget 2024

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The British Business Bank welcomes the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s announcement at today’s Autumn Budget confirming over £1bn of funding for the Bank to continue its programmes supporting access to finance for smaller businesses and thereby driving sustainable economic growth across the UK.

The Chancellor announced additional support for smaller businesses in the form of housing guarantee schemes to support the private housing market, which includes an increase in guarantee capacity of the Bank’s ENABLE Build programme to support further finance for smaller house builders, and allocated additional funding to the Growth Guarantee Scheme, the successor to the Recovery Loan Scheme.

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The announcement includes funding for Start Up Loans over the next financial year as well as additional funding for three of the Bank’s equity programmes that back innovative, high growth businesses and early-stage start-ups.

In line with the ambition of the Invest in Women Taskforce to expand access to funding for female entrepreneurs, the British Business Bank will invest £50m in female-led funds through its existing programmes.

Louis TaylorLouis Taylor
Louis Taylor

This ongoing commitment to the Bank complements the announcement at the International Investment Summit which confirmed the establishment of the British Growth Partnership to encourage more UK pension fund investment into the UK’s fastest growing and most innovative companies. In addition, reforms announced to the British Business Bank’s financial framework will put its £7.9bn for commercial programmes on a permanent footing, meaning the Bank can flexibly re-invest in the long-term to further increase its impact.

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Louis Taylor, CEO, British Business Bank, said: “We welcome today’s announcement by the Chancellor which is a further demonstration of the confidence in the British Business Bank to deliver access to finance for smaller businesses across the UK to help them start, scale and grow.

“Today’s package of measures will provide more guarantees to housebuilders, more loans to start up businesses, more funding to the UK’s high growth innovative companies, support for businesses to recover and grow, and to maximise women’s contribution to the economy.”

ENABLE Build

The Chancellor announced additional support for smaller businesses in the form of housing guarantee schemes to support the private housing market, which includes an increase in guarantee capacity of the Bank’s ENABLE Build programme to support further finance for smaller house builders. This will increase the credit available for smaller housebuilders, helping to support the building of thousands of new UK homes. ENABLE Build has supported the finance to build thousands of new homes across the UK since 2021.

Start Up Loans

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The government will provide funding for the Bank to continue the Start Up Loans programme. Start Up Loans delivers financial and business support to new businesses and aspiring under-represented UK entrepreneurs who have struggled to secure finance.

Future Fund: Breakthrough

The government will increase funding for the £425m Future Fund: Breakthrough programme to co-invest in high-growth, innovative firms.

The programme, delivered by the Bank’s commercial subsidiary, British Patient Capital, makes equity co-investments with private sector investors in growth stage R&D-intensive UK companies operating in breakthrough technology sectors. Future Fund: Breakthrough supports the growth of the UK’s most innovative companies and will help to provide an investment pipeline to pension fund investment through the work to develop the British Growth Partnership.

Life Sciences Investment Programme

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The government will increase funding for the £200m Life Sciences Investment Programme. The Life Sciences Investment Programme is designed to address the growth equity finance gap faced by high-potential UK life sciences companies. Through the programme, managed by British Patient Capital, the Bank makes cornerstone commitments to later stage life sciences venture growth funds with a strong UK focus.

Regional Angels Programme

The government will provide funding for the Regional Angels Programme to continue its aim of reducing regional imbalances in access to early-stage equity finance for smaller businesses across the UK. Managed by British Business Investments, the £285m programme seeks to increase the aggregate amount of early-stage equity capital that is available to smaller businesses with high growth potential across the UK, focusing on those outside London.

Invest in Women Taskforce

The Bank is expanding access to funding for female entrepreneurs and will invest £50m into female-led funds through its existing programmes. This investment will support the aims of the Invest in Women Taskforce, which is an industry led, government backed initiative committed to increasing finance for female entrepreneurs.