The British Business Bank has surpassed £5 billion of lending across its guarantee programmes, ENABLE Guarantees and ENABLE Build. The bank noted that much of the funding was for firms based outside of London.
The ENABLE program is designed to encourage additional lending to SMEs with partners incentivised by a government-backed guarantee to support defined portfolios of debt finance in return for a fee.
Since 2017, these programs have supported both bank and non-bank financial institutions to provide lending to smaller and medium-sized businesses.
Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, commented on the milestone stating that the British Business Bank is one of the tools they can utilize to put more money into people’s pockets.
“This £5 billion lending milestone is our Plan for Change in action. Not only has this programme delivered much-needed investment to areas outside London and the South East, it has supported the construction and housing sectors to get Britain building again.”
The British Business Bank is the UK government’s economic development bank. Established in November 2014, it seeks to drive growth and prosperity across the UK by improving access to finance for smaller businesses.