The British Business Bank and City SMEs

This morning, I attended a meeting at the British Business Bank with stakeholders across the UK finance and innovation space, who are promoting and have interests in grass roots business finance.

The BBB turned 10 years old in 2024, and this report, launched in January 2025, is a measure of their impact, growing today to be the largest domestic investor in UK venture and venture growth funds.

You can see the full report here (click to download)

Key Findings:

• The Bank has increased in scale and scope over the decade, helping finance flows of more than £32bn to reach smaller UK businesses over this time.

• These flows have benefitted around 209,000 businesses, supporting just under 2.3m existing jobs.

• 84% of businesses supported by the Bank are located outside London.

• 40% of Start Up Loans have gone to female founders

• 20% of Start Up Loans have gone to BAME founders

• 250,000 additional jobs are expected to be created by the businesses supported who are also expected to generate £97bn in additional turnover, equivalent to £43bn in GVA.

Here is some of the work that the City Corporation is doing to promote growth and investment in SMEs:

City of London Tech SME research report

The City of London Corporation commissioned detailed research on the Tech SME landscape in the Square Mile to use as an evidence base for any future SME upskilling programmes in the City. The report launched this week and covers key tech sectors, clustering, Investors and investment rounds, unicorn companies, the role of the accelerator, founder demography, diversity data as well as case studies.

Annual Policy Chairman SME Breakfast

This breakfast networking event will be taking place at the Guildhall and is designed to strengthen the launch of the City Corporation’s SME Tech report.

209 SMEs supported

SME Conference, Access to Finance: Early-Stage Investment for SMEs, Thursday 20th Feb.

This the very first City Corporation SME conference and is part-sponsored by British Business Bank.  The focus of the conference is to support early-stage SMEs explore funding and finance options. It will include insightful keynotes, interactive panel discussions, access to expert advice, a pitching competition and valuable networking opportunities, bringing together entrepreneurs, SME support specialists, key stakeholders, and financial experts. Access to Finance for Early-Stage SMEs Tickets, Thu, Feb 20, 2025 at 3:00 PM | Eventbrite.

City of London Corporation’s SME Gateway

There is a lot of ambition articulated in the  City of London: Small and Medium Enterprise Strategy and we recognise that in order for the City Corporation to have the most impact, we must connect with the wide range of support already being provided in the SME ecosystem across the City, London and the UK.

The City Corporation wants to align with this the wider SME support to simplify how SMEs access the support they need. 

The SME Gateway will launch in Q1 of 2026.  The messaging surrounding the SME Gateway will change over time to reflect key industry trends and/or corporate priorities but more importantly, the SME Gateway will become a key portal to attract, support and maintain relationships with start-ups and SMEs over time.