Government's 'Backing Your Business' Scheme Remarks Allocation of Over £4.5 Billion to the British Business Bank
The British Business Bank (BBB) has received a significant financial boost of £4.5 billion as part of the UK Government's new small business plan, raising the total capacity to £25.6 billion. This expansion enables a two-thirds increase in support for small businesses across the country.
The additional funding is aimed at extending and expanding key initiatives such as ENABLE and Growth programs that provide finance to smaller firms, helping them to scale and grow. This move is expected to improve access to finance for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), especially in emerging and diverse sectors.
The BBB has already committed significant amounts (£100 million) to female-led funds aligned with growth-driving sectors of the Industrial Strategy, addressing funding barriers identified by the Invest in Women Taskforce. The increased funding will also reinforce the BBB’s role in supporting equity investment and loan guarantees, fostering early-stage and high-growth startups.
The Start Up Loans programme, a key part of this initiative, is being scaled up to provide 69,000 loans over the Spending Review period, with an expected increase in average loan size from £12,000 to £15,000. This programme will provide more than £1 billion of additional lending to entrepreneurs.
The reforms will give the Bank a newly permanent and more fungible capital base, with greater flexibility to re-invest returns over the long term. The BBB's Regional Angels Programme has been allocated an additional £340m over the Spending Review period, and the capacity of the ENABLE Guarantees program has been increased from £2bn to £5bn.
The initiative will be invested through the Bank's existing capabilities across eight growth-driving sectors. The new £4bn British Business Bank Industrial Strategy Growth Capital initiative has been announced, further reinforcing the UK’s commitment to small business growth and economic development through strategic public investment.
The Growth Guarantee Scheme, established in August 2022, has been extended through the Spending Review period to 5 April 2030. This scheme has already enabled over £2.6bn of finance through 16,082 facilities as of 30 June 2025.
Louis Taylor, CEO of the British Business Bank, has stated that these measures will provide essential additional capacity and certainty for key debt and equity funding programmes. These measures are part of the Government’s 2025 Spending Review, which will enable a two-thirds increase in investments to around £2.5bn each year.
The expanded British Business Bank funding reinforces the UK’s commitment to small business growth and economic development, stimulating innovation and economic recovery. With UK startups increasingly attracting investment again after a downturn, especially in technology sectors like AI, health tech, and climate innovation, the BBB's role in supporting these emerging sectors is more crucial than ever.
ffnews.com could report on the expansion of the British Business Bank's funding, focusing on how this will benefit personal-finance and investing for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The increased funds will help these businesses through initiatives like ENABLE and Growth programs, addressing funding barriers and fostering early-stage startups in various sectors, including technology like AI, health tech, and climate innovation.
The increased funding for female-led funds, aligned with growth-driving sectors of the Industrial Strategy, demonstrates the British Business Bank's commitment to business diversity and personal-finance equity. This move is expected to improve access to finance for underrepresented groups in the economy.
