Latest news with #BritishBusinessBank
The Herald Scotland
4 days ago
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Scots hospitality firm expects 'busier than ever' summer
The firm has used £20,000 of funding from the British Business Bank's Start Up loans programme to expand its headquarters in Sanquhar. Mr Gallacher, who set up Knockenhair in 2023, followed in the footsteps of his grandmother Nancy, who ran a similar business in the catering sector for 30 years before retiring in 2015. He studied professional cooking and hospitality management at Dumfries and Galloway College and started his own cake-making venture before deciding to take the family back to its hospitality roots. His grandmother, now 79, remains on hand as a source of advice and to test the firm's renowned strawberry tarts, of which more than 6,000 were made last year. Read more: Mr Gallacher said: 'While I was much too young to help out, I have fond memories of spending my weekends and school holidays pottering about in my gran's commercial kitchen and getting a taste of how the business worked – as well as trialling the recipes. Going to college to study hospitality was the obvious choice for me after finishing school and, following stints working in a couple of local bars and pubs, I felt that the time was right to give the catering business a go. 'The prep kitchen that my gran had used was still in decent condition, but now that I'm a couple of years into running the business, it feels like a good time to upgrade some of the equipment and increase the size of the space. It is still very much a family venture, and it is great to be able to get my gran's advice and also pick up again with some of the regular customers that she catered for years before. 'This summer we expect to be busier than ever with weddings and corporate events, covering everywhere from Glasgow to Carlisle.' Knockenhair Hospitality now has a team of 20 people and, further to the kitchen refurbishment, has plans to increase its footprint further in the coming years. Mr Gallacher was named young entrepreneur at the Dumfries and Galloway Life Awards in November. The Start Up Loans programme has now provided more than £75 million of funding to businesses in Scotland, with 8,000 loans provided to entrepreneurs. Barry McCulloch, senior manager, UK network, Scotland at the British Business Bank, said: 'Hospitality has been one of the core sectors that we have supported through the Start Up Loans programme in Scotland, so it is fitting to see the £75m milestone celebrated with Knockenhair Hospitality. The success to date highlights the effectiveness of the programme in addressing regional imbalances and access to finance among smaller businesses, which are of huge importance to the Scottish economy – particularly in rural communities.'
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
British Business Bank names Julia Bond as nonexecutive director
The British Business Bank has appointed Julia Bond as nonexecutive board director and chair of its remuneration committee. Her appointment as board director was effective from 19 May, and she will assume the role of chair of the remuneration committee from 1 July, the bank said in its press statement. Bond has extensive experience in global finance, public service, and long-term investment. She currently holds nonexecutive positions at Impax Asset Management, International Public Partnerships, UK Strategic Command, and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. British Business Bank chair Stephen Welton said: 'Julia brings with her a great deal of capability and experience in both the private and public sector, and I am pleased to welcome her onto the board of the British Business Bank. 'She joins at a pivotal time for the bank, at which we are set to play an even bigger role in shaping the future of the UK economy as a major catalyst to drive growth and access to finance, whilst helping to crowd in greater institutional investment.' Bond was previously a senior executive at Credit Suisse, where she led global fixed-income businesses and managed relationships with sovereign wealth funds, central banks, and institutional investors across Europe, Asia, and the Americas. She has also served as a nonexecutive director for the National Health Service, European Assets Trust, and ACCA, where she chaired multiple board committees, including those focused on audit, remuneration, environmental, social, and governance, and risk. Commenting on the new role, Bond said: 'The British Business Bank occupies a practically unique position as a UK public sector organisation which operates in commercial finance markets, and I look forward to bringing my knowledge and expertise in each of those sectors to my new role. 'I am delighted to be joining the bank at an exciting time for the organisation, as it significantly expands the scope of its activities.' Recently, the British Business Bank reached £5bn ($4.08bn) in lending through its ENABLE structured guarantee programmes. These programmes, including ENABLE Guarantees and ENABLE Build, have delivered more than £3bn to businesses outside London and the South East of England, supporting small and medium-sized enterprises across the UK, the bank said. "British Business Bank names Julia Bond as nonexecutive director" was originally created and published by Leasing Life, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site.
Business News Wales
6 days ago
- Business
- Business News Wales
British Business Bank Reaches £5bn Lending Milestone for Structured Guarantee Programmes
The British Business Bank has reached the landmark milestone of £5 billion of lending across its structured guarantee programmes, ENABLE Guarantees and ENABLE Build. More than £3 billion has been delivered to businesses outside London and the South East. A total of £155.95 million has been provided in Wales. The ENABLE Guarantees programme is designed to encourage additional lending to smaller and medium-sized businesses. Participating institutions are incentivised by a government-backed guarantee to support defined portfolios of debt finance in return for a fee. Smaller and medium-sized businesses across the UK have benefited significantly from the programme, British Business Bank said. The structured guarantee programmes have provided more than £2.3 billion of support to the construction and housing sectors, including around £1.2 billion under ENABLE Build. Other notable sectors benefiting include hospitality, with more than £270 million, and agriculture, with more than £260 million. Since the first transaction in 2017, these structured guarantee programmes have supported both bank and non-bank financial institutions to unlock more lending to smaller and medium-sized businesses. The ENABLE Guarantees programme is open to all UK banks, UK branches of foreign banks, asset and asset-based finance providers as well as certain other categories of lenders which lend, or intend to lend, to viable small and medium-sized enterprises operating in the UK. The ENABLE Build programme operates in a similar manner to the ENABLE Guarantees programme, but is focused on encouraging additional lending to smaller and medium-sized housebuilders in the UK. Michael Strevens, Managing Director, Structured Financial Institutions, British Business Bank, said: 'It's incredibly rewarding to reflect on the volume of lending to smaller and medium-sized businesses and the number of homes built that we've helped enable over the years. Our focus has always been on evolving our support to strengthen UK businesses, and it's encouraging to see those efforts bearing fruit. Looking ahead, we're focused on being more proactive — working closely with lenders to understand their challenges and tailor solutions that fit. That's how we'll unlock the next £5 billion — and do so with greater pace and purpose.' Adam Bovingdon, Head of Property Development, United Trust Bank (UTB), said: 'UTB helped the British Business Bank develop its ENABLE Guarantees programme to be suitable for supporting housebuilding and was the first lender to take advantage of it when it was made available to the sector in 2017. We subsequently signed up to ENABLE Build and I am delighted to say that earlier this year UTB surpassed £1 billion of ENABLE guaranteed lending across both schemes, delivering nearly 450 loan facilities to SME housebuilders and supporting the creation of around 4,700 new homes. Bearing in mind that during this period lenders and housebuilders have also had to contend with the Covid-19 pandemic and considerable economic and political volatility, it's clear just how important this support has been. ENABLE is an excellent example of successful state and private sector cooperation.' Ravi Anand, Managing Director of ThinCats, said: 'The British Business Bank's ENABLE Guarantees programme has been a huge contribution to the £1 billion of funding we have undertaken post COVID. The scheme 'does what it says on the tin'— enabling senior bank appetite to allow ThinCats to fund growth initiatives of UK mid-sized SMEs and in turn enabling a positive contribution to UK GDP.' Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the Federation of Master Builders (FMB), said: 'It's positive to see that small housebuilders have taken advantage of ENABLE schemes. Financing is one of the top issues holding back small developers from building new homes and the more finance options there are the better. The ENABLE Build scheme helps aid diversification of the UK's housing market, which is essential to deliver the Government's ambition of 1.5 million new homes.'
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
British Business Bank hits £5bn in structured guarantee programmes
The British Business Bank has reached £5bn in lending through its ENABLE structured guarantee programmes. These programmes, including ENABLE Guarantees and ENABLE Build, have delivered more than £3bn to businesses outside London and the South East, supporting smaller and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across the UK, the bank said. A total of £500m has been allocated to each of the North West, East Midlands and East of England regions. The ENABLE Guarantees programme is designed to encourage additional lending to SMEs by providing a government-backed guarantee to participating institutions, which support defined portfolios of debt finance in return for a fee. The structured guarantee programmes provided more than £2.3bn of support to the construction and housing sectors, including approximately £1.2bn under ENABLE Build. Other sectors such as hospitality and agriculture have also benefitted, receiving more than £270m and £260m, respectively. Since the first transaction in 2017, these programmes have enabled both bank and non-bank financial institutions to increase lending to SMEs. The ENABLE Guarantees programme is open to all UK banks, UK branches of foreign banks, asset and asset-based finance providers, and certain other lenders that lend to viable SMEs in the UK. The ENABLE Build programme operates similarly to ENABLE Guarantees but focuses on encouraging additional lending to smaller and medium-sized housebuilders in the UK. British Business Bank Structured Financial Institutions managing director Michael Strevens said: 'It is incredibly rewarding to reflect on the volume of lending to smaller and medium-sized businesses and the number of homes built that we have helped enable over the years. 'Our focus has always been on evolving our support to strengthen UK businesses, and it is encouraging to see those efforts bearing fruit. Looking ahead, we are focused on being more proactive – working closely with lenders to understand their challenges and tailor solutions that fit. That is how we will unlock the next £5bn – and do so with greater pace and purpose.' "British Business Bank hits £5bn in structured guarantee programmes" was originally created and published by Leasing Life, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Sign in to access your portfolio
CNBC
28-05-2025
- Business
- CNBC
Goldman-backed Starling Bank reports 26% drop in annual profit as it flags Covid loan fraud issue
LONDON — British online lender Starling Bank on Wednesday reported a sharp drop in annual profit, citing an issue with Covid-era business loan fraud and a regulatory fine over financial crime failings. Starling, which offers fee-free current accounts and lending services via a mobile app, posted profit before tax for the year ending March 31, 2025 of £223.4 million ($301.9 million), down nearly 26% year-over-year. Revenue at the bank totalled £714 million, up about 5% from £682 million a year ago. However, that marked a slowdown from the more than 50% revenue growth Starling saw in its 2024 fiscal year. Profits for the year were impacted by a £29 million fine by the U.K.'s Financial Conduct Authority over failings related to Starling's financial crime prevention systems. Starling also flagged an issue with the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) that was designed to provide firms with access to cash during the coronavirus pandemic. Starling was one of several banks that were approved to lend cash to firms during the Covid-19 outbreak in 2020. The scheme provided a 100% guarantee to lenders, making the government responsible for covering the full outstanding loan amount if a borrower defaulted. However, Starling said it has since "identified a group of BBLS loans which potentially did not comply with a guarantee requirement" due to weaknesses in its historic fraud checks. After flagging this to the state-owned British Business Bank, the firm subsequently "volunteered to remove the government guarantee on those loans." "As a result, we have taken a £28.2m provision in this year's accounts," the bank said, referring to both the FCA fine and BBLS issue. However, Starling said it held an Expected Credit Loss provision of £800,000 as of March 31 in relation to certain BBLS loans "where the guarantee provided under the BBLS guarantee agreement may no longer be available to the Company." "This is a legacy issue which we dealt with transparently and in full cooperation with the British Business Bank," Declan Ferguson, Starling's chief financial officer, said on a media call Wednesday. Starling has operated as a licensed bank in the U.K. since 2018. It counts the likes of Goldman Sachs, Fidelity Investments and the Qatar Investment Authority as shareholders. The firm, which was last privately valued in 2022 at £2.5 billion, faces hefty competition from both incumbent banks and rival fintechs like Monzo and Revolut.
