In its third annual Impact Report published today, the bank estimates the supported firms will generate £800m in additional turnover which will deliver a forecast uplift in economic output of £300m to Scotland’s economy over the lifetime of the finance they have received.

One of the key drivers of this impact is the bank’s £150m Investment Fund for Scotland, which has so far delivered more than £36.5m through 92 investments, reaching 83 smaller businesses and leveraging a further £33.9m in private sector finance. Together, this has brought total investment into Scottish businesses to more than £70m to date. 

The bank is also expanding support to Glasgow City region with a new £8.5m innovation cluster, helping drive more equity investment into businesses operating in the eight priority Industrial Strategy sectors.

The Glasgow City Region Cluster, which backs university spinouts and deep tech scale-ups has already seen investment into Highway Data Systems, a Glasgow-based technology company that automates quality assurance for road construction projects, completing a £1.25m funding round through the Investment Fund for Scotland, managed by Maven Capital Partners.  

Mark Sterritt, Managing Director, British Business Bank Local Growth Team, said: “The British Business Bank continues to play an important role in supporting Scotland’s smaller businesses to invest, grow and create jobs. The latest impact figures show that our programmes are reaching businesses across the country, helping them access the finance they need to innovate, scale and realise their ambitions. 

“Through initiatives such as the Investment Fund for Scotland and our growing support for regional innovation clusters, we are helping to address long-standing funding gaps and unlock opportunities for businesses in all parts of Scotland. We look forward to building on this momentum and working with even more ambitious firms in the year ahead.”