British Business Bank

Mark Sterritt, UK network director - Scotland at the British Business Bank, talks about the success of the Start Up Loans programme in Scotland and the value that new business brings to the Scottish economy, particularly as we focus on recovery. Scotland’s entrepreneurs may have faced multiple

Scotland has the most self-contained investor base outside of London, and one of the UK’s most vibrant financial ecosystems, according to new research published today as part of the British Business Bank’s first annual Regions and Nations Tracker. However, while Scotland’s 9% share

Scottish companies founded by entrepreneurs under 30 have received £15 million of funding through the Start Up Loans programme, according to new data released today by the British Business Bank. Since the initiative launched in 2012, 2,136 loans – nearly 40% of Start Up Loans awarded in

More than £4 billion of government-backed loans were provided to Scottish businesses during the coronavirus crisis, according to a new breakdown from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) showing the amount of debt taken on across every Scottish council area. By comparison, the latest offic

Mark Sterritt, UK network director, Scotland at the British Business Bank, discusses the growing appetite for equity finance among Scottish small businesses. It can be a difficult experience for any entrepreneur to sell part of the company they have built over years and decades of hard work. Yet, by

Smaller businesses in Scotland are likely to struggle to access the level of funding and investment needed to support growth, according to a new survey published by the British Business Bank. The Bank’s latest research conducted by Ipsos MORI found that the vast majority (84%) of the Scot

New data published today by the British Business Bank has revealed that businesses across Scotland received a total of over £4bn in funding under the government’s two largest Covid-19 loan schemes, the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) and the Bounce Back Loan Scheme

The burgeoning tech sector accounted for 44% of equity investment in Scotland’s small businesses last year, with £124 million invested in smaller tech companies in Scotland in 2020, according to the British Business Bank’s Small Business Equity Tracker, published today. Analysis fr

Smaller businesses in Scotland raised equity finance more than any other part of the UK outside of London last year, according to analysis from the British Business Bank. Figures from the Bank’s annual Small Business Finance Markets report show that there were 242 equity deals in Scotland in 2

A new Start Up Loans initiative launched by the British Business Bank is set to unlock the talent of young entrepreneurs in Scotland after the pandemic. The disruptive impact of Coronavirus on the UK’s economy and traditional working patterns has catalysed many to reconsider their careers, whe

Emergency funding schemes launched in reaction to the coronavirus pandemic led to gross bank lending to small and medium-sized companies rising by 82% last year to £104 billion, fuelling concerns amongst UK firms about business debt.

Independent business lender White Oak has announced that it has successfully provided over £270 million through the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) to support UK SMEs through the pandemic. A total of £14m of the CBILS funding has been provided to Scottish SMEs.

It is estimated that UK banks have prevented more than £1 billion in fraud by rejecting almost 27,000 applications for COVID-19 Bounce Back loans.  The loans been an integral part of the UK Government’s support for small businesses during the pandemic, but concerns are mounting over

Edinburgh-based fintech lending platform LendingCrowd has been approved for accreditation by the British Business Bank as a new lender under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS). This means LendingCrowd will be able to distribute UK government-backed loans to SMEs impacted by th

International finance firm Epidarex Capital has launched a £102 million venture fund in Edinburgh to build successful life science companies.