British Business Bank launches £30 million funding pot

The British Business Bank has launched the first instalment of a funding scheme to help businesses to grow.

The Help to Grow programme will provide loans of up to £200 million to small businesses to encourage growth and innovation. The first £30 million instalment of the funding has now been made available to growing businesses.

Beneficial

The British Business Bank has partnered with Lloyds Banking Group, who will be delivering the funding.

Businesses from all sectors will have access to the funding, but the scheme is expected to be particularly beneficial to companies in areas such as manufacturing, technology, and the creative industries.

Announced last year, the Help to Grow programme initially provided growth loans of up to £100 million, but this was increased to £200 million in the 2016 budget.

Critical

Commenting on the Help to Grow scheme, British Business Bank CEO Keith Morgan said: “We want to replicate the drive and dynamism evident in the UK’s start-up culture in later stages of the small business journey, and Help to Grow has a critical role to play in achieving that.”

He added that the British Business Bank is pleased to announce its partnership with Lloyds Banking Group and to be working with the European Investment Fund to deliver “this vitally important finance” to the UK market.