British Business Investments, a wholly-owned commercial subsidiary of British Business Bank plc, the UK’s national economic development bank, today publishes its Annual Reports and Accounts for 2017/18, its fourth year of operation.
1.	Support financial innovation and diversity – we supported the development of diverse debt and equity finance markets by increasing our number of investment partners from 38 in 2017 (as at 31 March 2017) to 58 in 2018 (as at 31 March 2018), particularly through and Venture and Growth Capital.
2.	Promote a greater supply of finance to the market – through new and existing investment partners, we’re increasing the supply of capital, with total commitments of £2.1bn (as at 31 March 2018), an increase of 31% on 2016/2017.
3.	Increase financing options for UK SMEs – in addition to our invested capital of £1.2bn, third parties have invested a further £9.1bn alongside, resulting in a total funding of £10.3bn across the market. This is an increase of 43% (from £7.2bn) since 31 March 2017, invested in 26,706 businesses.
4.	Delivering a commercial return to our shareholder in excess of our benchmark returns – British Business Investments delivered a 7% gross return on capital invested, 1.4% higher than its benchmark.
British Business Investments invests in challenger banks, non-bank lenders and venture and growth capital funds to increase the choice of finance for smaller and medium sized businesses. It generates an attractive commercial return on investment for the UK taxpayer while having an economic impact by increasing the supply of capital available for small and medium sized businesses.
Catherine Lewis La Torre, CEO of British Business Investments, said: “Our latest investments have enabled us to increase the supply of capital to a broad range of small and medium-sized businesses, recognising their importance to the success of the UK economy.
Keith Morgan, Chair of British Business Investments, said: “We are pleased to report a strong set of results for the 2017/2018 financial year, a broadening of British Business Investments’ remit, an increase in profits, and an expansion of our network of finance partners.
Download the British Business Investments Annual Report and Accounts 2017/18.
From FY 2018-19 the British Business Bank group, including its subsidiaries, will no longer report against its delivery of finance to mid-cap businesses as a key performance indicator. There is a full explanation of the rationale for this change in the British Business Bank plc Annual Report (p6).