BRITISH BUSINESS BANK TRIPLES PROFIT TO £426M ON RECORD £9.4BN LENDING

The British Business Bank reported a pre-tax profit of £426m for 2025/26, trebling its profit from the previous year's £144m, according to its Annual Report and Accounts published today. The state-owned lender channelled a record £9.4bn of finance to smaller firms during the period. Of this total, £1.3bn was public funding, £4.3bn was private capital, and £3.8bn came through guaranteed lending. The funding supported 30,000 businesses receiving Bank-backed finance for the first time, plus 8,000 receiving follow-on funding.

The Bank's activities are expected to generate 39,000 additional jobs and £8.8bn in gross value added over the life of the finance, according to the organisation's analysis. Louis Taylor, Chief Executive, stated the Bank expects to support £19.7bn of additional business turnover and sustain 340,000 existing jobs. Regional distribution showed 87 per cent of newly supported businesses were based beyond London, with every UK nation and region expected to see economic output increases exceeding £100m. Guarantee commitments rose 26 per cent to £2.5bn, including £1.3bn through the Growth Guarantee Scheme.

The restructuring included a reduction in headcount, with staff numbers standing at 604 full-time employees as of March 2026, down from approximately 654 the prior year. David Hourican, the Bank's finance director, said the review removed around 15 per cent of the cost base, saving approximately £9m, including £6.3m from staffing costs. The savings were earmarked for investment in technology and automation. The Bank also consolidated its 20 separate financing programmes into banking and investment divisions.