British Business Bank supports £9.4bn of finance as pre-tax profit reaches £426m

The British Business Bank supported £9.4 billion of finance for smaller businesses during 2025/26, while delivering its largest profit since 2021/22, according to its latest Annual Report and Accounts.

The Bank reported a statutory profit before tax of £426 million for the year, almost three times the £144 million recorded in the previous year, alongside record delivery of finance and investment to smaller businesses across the UK’s Nations and regions.

Of the £9.4 billion of finance supported, £1.3 billion came from public funding, £4.3 billion was private capital crowded in by the Bank and £3.7 billion was delivered through lending guaranteed by the Bank.

The activity supported 30,000 businesses that had not previously received Bank-backed funding, alongside 8,000 businesses receiving follow-on finance during the year. Some 87% of newly-supported businesses were located outside London.

The Bank estimates its 2025/26 activities will generate £8.8 billion in additional gross value added (GVA) over the life of the finance, including £5.3 billion outside London, and create around 39,000 additional jobs while supporting 340,000 existing jobs.

It also expects the finance to generate £19.7 billion in additional business turnover and deliver a boost of more than £100 million to GVA in every UK Nation and region.

“In 2025/26 the British Business Bank stepped up both the size and reach of its investments and deepened its support to strengthen the UK’s banking and alternative finance landscape for smaller businesses.

“The Bank has returned a pre-tax profit of £426m this year, a 3x increase on last year’s £144m profit. Our activities in 2025/26 are expected to produce an impact of 39,000 additional jobs and £8.8bn of gross value added over the life of the finance.

“With increased capacity for new funded commitments of £2.5bn a year, alongside issuing £2.1bn annually in guarantees, we are building momentum as we continue to invest at record levels and become a more confident, visible presence across the UK’s equity and debt finance markets. This year has started strongly.”

The Bank delivered a five-year adjusted financial return of 3.9%, while its investment portfolio grew by 25% to £5.8 billion, comprising £4.4 billion of equity and £1.5 billion of debt.

It also generated £115 million of realised gains during 2025/26, taking its lifetime Multiple on Invested Capital (MOIC) to 2.2x. Underlying operating costs as a proportion of assets under management reduced to 1.08%.

Guarantee commitments increased by 26% to £2.5 billion, comprising £1.2 billion in structured guarantees and £1.3 billion through the Growth Guarantee Scheme.

The results come as the Bank enters its next phase with greater financial capacity and structural flexibility, alongside a new five-year strategic plan focused on supporting economic growth and improving access to finance.

“The Bank, headquartered in Sheffield, with more than half of its workforce based outside its London office, is embedded in the communities and markets it supports as a champion of smaller businesses. We are making significant progress driving impact across the Nations and regions of the UK, in the last decade delivering over £40bn of GVA and more than 250,000 additional jobs.

“With two clear lines of business, over £25bn in financial capacity and greater flexibility, we are increasing access to finance for thousands of smaller businesses alongside supporting high growth innovative companies with equity investment.”

Under its five-year strategic plan, the Bank is targeting the creation of up to 370,000 new jobs and up to £57 billion of additional GVA by 2030.