£300m benefit to West Midlands economy through small business support
New figures released today reveal that 2,200 smaller businesses in the West Midlands are expected to create 2,000 new jobs and to generate an estimated £800 million in additional turnover over the lifetime of their finance, following support from the British Business Bank in 2024/25.
The Bank’s second annual Impact Report published today, reports that the firms which were newly funded by the Bank, supported a further 24,500 jobs and overall are expected to deliver a forecast £300 million of gross value added to the West Midlands economy over the lifetime of their finance.
One of the key drivers of this impact is the Bank’s £400 million Midlands Engine Investment Fund II. Since its launch last year, the Midlands Engine Investment Fund II has unlocked more than £37 million of Bank funds and private sector investment for smaller businesses.
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 West Midlands 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.
Vicky Mears, UK Network Director - Midlands and the North of England, British Business Bank said: “Today’s figures demonstrate the impact that the right funding and support can have on smaller businesses in our region. Namely, more growth, productivity, new and safeguarded jobs.
“Understanding the distinct needs of our regions is vital if we are to design support that works. Our programmes, including the Midlands Engine Investment Fund II and Start Up Loans, understand the unique needs of entrepreneurs here in the Midlands as well as our sectoral strengths, wider ecosystems and networks.
“The tailoring of our support to regional needs allied with our funding capacity is what helps us to deliver for the region’s entrepreneurs. I look forward to building on these results and seeing more ambitious firms thrive.”
The national picture
In 2024/25, the Bank supported a total of £6.8bn of finance for smaller businesses across the UK - £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 had not received Bank-supported funding before, as well as 4,000 that were first funded by the Bank before 2024/25.
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
