
British Business Bank Investments (BBBI), the commercial arm of the British Business Bank, has made a pre-tax profit of £40m and a dividend to its shareholder, the British Business Bank, of £32m.
The business said it had supported 12,068 businesses across the UK by 31 March 2016 as a result of its investments of £700m, which it said sat alongside the £4.6bn of private sector capital from 34 business finance providers.
Leasing figures
In response to a request for information from Leasing Life, a spokesman said that BBBI had six asset finance companies in its portfolio of investments;
- Kingsway Asset Finance
- Haydock Finance
- Shire Leasing
- Ultimate Finance Group
- Credit Asset Management Limited
- Private and Commercial Finance
BBBI had invested £110m of its £700m in the above funders in the past year, with £36m seeded across 3,555 SME businesses via those funders by 31 March 2016.
BBBI invests in small business finance providers, generating commercial returns on investment for the UK taxpayer, with the intention of improving the finance markets for small, medium and mid-cap businesses.
Keith Morgan, chairman of BBBI, said: “In the year to March 2016, British Business Bank Investments Ltd has delivered on its return objective and, at the same time, has unlocked an increased supply of finance to UK small businesses.
“Across our 34 portfolio investments we have supported a diversity of providers including leaders in the alternative finance industry, challenger banks and private debt funds. This is in addition to traditional direct lenders and asset finance providers.
“As we welcome Catherine Lewis La Torre as the new chief executive, these annual results show a year of strong growth and significant momentum.”