Description
British Business Bank plc (BBB) is a state-owned economic development bank established by the UK Government.
Its aim is to increase the supply of credit to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as well as providing business advice services. It is structured as a public limited company and is owned by the Department for Business and Trade (DBT, formerly known as the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills or BIS). The bank has its headquarters in Sheffield.
Operations
The bank has taken on all financial schemes previously controlled by Capital for Enterprise Limited (CfEL), such as Enterprise Capital Funds, the Enterprise Finance Guarantee, Business Angel Co-investment Funds and the Small Firms Loan Guarantee. In addition, the bank ran the assessment process to select Bizfitech, Funding Xchange and Funding Options as designated finance platforms for the bank referral scheme.
The bank mainly targets its assistance to companies with a turnover of up to £25 million. The bank does not lend to SMEs directly, but instead works with other financial institutions to increase access to funding, such as by providing part-guarantees for loans.
The bank came under criticism from lender Rebuildingsociety.com in 2014 for its execution of the Funding for Lending scheme, saying it created unfair competition in the UK peer-to-peer lending industry by concentrating financial support via the largest platforms.
After the January 2018 liquidation of Carillion threatened thousands of suppliers, particularly SMEs, £100 million of lending was offered by the British Business Bank alongside a fund established by HSBC, Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Bank.
In 2020 the NSSIF was involved in the British Government decision to invest £400 million for a 45% stake in OneWeb, a struggling low Earth orbit satellite communications business. It was reported that the UK would repurpose the satellites for the United Kingdom Global Navigation Satellite System, but by September 2020 that strategy was being reconsidered. The government's stake in OneWeb was diluted in July 2022 when the company was merged into French rival Eutelsat.
In January 2022, as a result of a loan to the club being translated into shares, the bank became a minority interest in Bolton Wanderers F.C..
In February 2022 the bank launched its Sustainability Hub which aimed to alert smaller businesses to the commercial benefits of investing in decarbonisation. The Hub's resources include articles on topics such as creating action plans, sustainable logistics, and how to a build a green supply chain.
