• Swindon & Wiltshire Economy
• Monday August 4 2025

Thousands of jobs created with support of British Business Bank

Nearly 2,200 smaller businesses in the South West have been supported by the British Business Bank, creating thousands of new jobs.

In its second annual Impact Report the Bank estimates South West businesses will earn £1.2 billion in additional turnover over the lifetime of their finance as a result of its activities in the past financial year.

This will drive an uplift in economic output of £0.5 billion over the lifetime of the finance provided, while supporting 23,500 jobs.

One of the key drivers of this impact, says the Bank, includes its £200 million South West Investment Fund, which last month marked its 150th deal having driven almost £66 million of investment into new and growing businesses across the region since its launch in 2023.

The fund offers loans from £25,000 up to equity investment of £5m, throughout the region.

The Impact Report comes as the Bank gears up to deliver a step change in financing support to smaller businesses after its financial capacity was increased to £25.6 billion in June’s Spending Review, enabling it to increase annual investments to around £2.5bn a year and to crowd in more third party capital.

The report underlines the Bank’s continued commitment to the South West and wider Nations and regions. Eighty four of the businesses supported by the Bank in 2024/25 were based outside of London – helping to deliver more than a £100 million boost to economic output in each and every UK Nation and region.

Steve Conibear, UK network director, South West for the British Business Bank, said: “These figures highlight the important role the British Business Bank plays in supporting smaller businesses across the South West. Newly backing 2,200 firms in 2024/25 has helped drive growth, support new jobs and boost productivity in the region.

“Our South West Investment Fund and Start Up Loans programme are delivering real impact on the ground, helping entrepreneurs at every stage of their journey.

“With increased financial capacity, including the recent launch of our Investor Pathways Capital initiative to help diversify the UK equity market, we’re now well placed to scale up our support and work with more partners to unlock finance for even more businesses across the region.”