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British Business Bank

The British Business Bank's aim is to drive sustainable growth and prosperity across the UK, and to enable the transition to a net zero economy, by supporting access to finance for smaller businesses.

The British Business Bank is 100% Government owned, but independently managed. It brings expertise and Government money to the smaller business finance markets. We don’t lend or invest directly. Instead we work with over 130 partners such as banks, leasing companies, venture capital funds and web-based platforms.

Businesses apply for finance through our partners who, because they work with us, can lend and invest more, especially to younger and faster growing companies.

We’re glad to be part of the Council for Investing in Female Entrepreneurs and to contribute to the work of the Rose Review. Our Start Up Loans programme has been operating since 2012, with over 100,000 loans made to date of which 40% have been to women. Our Finance Hub provides impartial information on different finance types and you will find it referenced throughout this site.

Finally, we promote the Investing in Women Code to our partners – we are the largest venture capital (VC) investor in the UK. We look after data collection for VC funds who are Code signatories and also provide the Investing in Women Code’s website.

Both Start Up Loans and our VC investment arm, British Patient Capital, are Code signatories.