£200m South West Investment Fund preparing for 2023 launch

About the Nations and Regions Investment Funds and the South West Investment Fund

The Nations and Regions Investment Funds will increase the supply and diversity of early-stage finance for UK smaller businesses, providing finance to firms that might otherwise not receive investment and help to break down barriers in access to finance. Operating in a commercially sustainable way the Nations and Regions Investment Funds will deliver a £1.6 billion commitment of new funding through investment strategies that best meet the needs of the businesses in their nation or region.

The British Business Bank is responsible for administering the Nations and Regions Investment Funds on behalf of the UK government. We are establishing investment funds in areas not currently served by the Bank’s existing regional funding programme before launching follow-on investment funds in existing fund areas.

£200 million has been allocated to provide a new fund for businesses in the South West of England, building on the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Investment Fund. The South West Investment Fund will offer a range of commercial finance options with small loans from £25,000 and equity investment up to £5 million. The new fund will cover the entire South West region including Bristol, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire.

The South West Investment Fund will have a demonstrable presence across the region linking up with the existing small business finance ecosystem to increase reach and create an impact beyond the funds, helping to boost productivity, innovation and jobs.

About the British Business Bank

The British Business Bank is the UK government’s economic development bank. Established in November 2014, its mission is to drive sustainable growth and prosperity across the UK and to enable the transition to a net zero economy, by improving access to finance for smaller businesses. Its remit is to design, deliver and efficiently manage UK-wide smaller business access to finance programmes for the UK government.

The British Business Bank’s core programmes support over £12.2 billion ^{Read footnote text 1}  of finance to more than 96,000 smaller businesses ^{Read footnote text 2} .

As well as increasing the supply and diversity of finance for UK smaller businesses through its programmes, the Bank works to raise awareness of finance options available to smaller businesses. The British Business Bank Finance Hub provides independent and impartial information to businesses about finance options, featuring short films, expert guides, checklists and articles from finance providers to help make their application a success.

The British Business Bank is also responsible for administering the government’s three Coronavirus loan schemes and its Future Fund, together responsible for delivering £80.4 billion in finance to 1.67 million businesses. These schemes are now closed to new applications.

British Business Bank plc is a public limited company registered in England and Wales, registration number 08616013, registered office at Steel City House, West Street, Sheffield, S1 2GQ. Wholly owned by HM government, the Bank and its subsidiaries are not banking institutions and do not operate as such. They are not authorised or regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) or the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). A complete legal structure chart for the group can be found at British Business Bank.

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  Figures as at end March 2022

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  Figures as at end March 2022