The North West economy is expected to experience a £700m boost in economic output as a direct result of support provided through the British Business Bank in its latest financial year, according to its second annual Impact Report.
Having supported 2,900 businesses across the region in the 2024/25 financial year, the funding provided by the bank is expected to generate £1.6bn in additional turnover over the lifetime of the finance. This has supported 32,100 existing jobs, while it is estimated to create an additional 3,000 jobs over the life of the finance provided.
One of the key drivers of this impact is the bank’s £660m Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II (NPIF II), which recently celebrated its one-year anniversary, having driven over £130m, comprising of over £80m of direct investment and an additional £55m of private leverage since its launch.
Today’s Impact Report comes as the bank’s reach was boosted in June’s Spending Review, where it saw its financial capacity increased to £25.6bn, enabling it to increase annual investments to around £2.5bn a year and crowd in more third party capital.
The report underlines the bank’s continued commitment to the North West and wider nations and regions. 84% of the businesses supported by the bank in 2024/25 were based outside of London – helping to deliver more than a £100m boost to economic output in each and every UK Nation and region.
Delyth Edwards, senior network manager at the British Business Bank, said: “It’s been another strong year for the British Business Bank, supporting even more businesses across our region, creating jobs and stimulating economic growth. The last year hasn’t been without its challenges for our small business community, but the North West remains a hub for forward-thinking, innovative entrepreneurs, so it’s great to be playing a part in their business journeys. We’re poised to continue delivering on this track record, and I can’t wait for us to support even more incredible businesses.”
Across the UK in 2024/25, the Bank supported a total of £6.8bn of finance for smaller businesses – £1.2bn of our public funding, £2.6bn of lending guaranteed and an additional £3.0bn of private capital crowded in.
This enabled the Bank to support 24,000 businesses that hadn’t received Bank-supported funding before, as well as 4,000 that were first funded by the Bank before 2024/25. 84% of the businesses supported were outside of London
The expected impacts over the life of this finance are:
- The creation of 38,000 additional jobs
- £18.0bn of additional business turnover, equivalent to an extra £8.0bn of economic output
- A more than £100m boost to economic output in each and every UK Nation and region
The British Business Bank’s Impact Report 2025 estimates the impact of finance to businesses newly supported by the Bank in 2024/25. The estimated impacts on job creation, business turnover and economic output are over the lifetime of the finance provided.
