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Small Business Advice Week announces British Business Bank as Official Partner

Small Business Advice Week has partnered with British Business Bank to celebrate ambition in smaller businesses, and to encourage them to explore ‘what’s really possible’.

The British Business Bank is a Government-owned, independently-run development bank that is supporting around £5.2bn of finance to nearly 75,000 smaller businesses. Its mission, which fits perfectly with Small Business Advice Week, is to make finance markets for smaller businesses work more effectively, enabling those businesses to prosper, grow and build UK economic activity.

The Bank’s new interactive website – the British Business Bank Finance Hub – has been built to help businesses, and particularly scale-up businesses, understand and discover the finance options that could help them fulfil their growth potential . Through expert insights, it offers independent information on a range of finance options best suited to support these ambitions.

At the centre of the site is the British Business Bank’s new Finance Finder, a simple six-step tool that enables smaller business to explore a range of the finance options, both equity and debt, that might work for them.

Keith Morgan, CEO of British Business Bank said: “For many bright and brilliant businesses across the UK the financial landscape can be complex, daunting and misunderstood, meaning they miss out on the finance they need to fulfil their growth ambitions. We want to celebrate ambition in smaller businesses and encourage them to explore what’s really possible by increasing awareness and understanding of their finance options.

 “Our Information Hub website is an easy to use tool that helps small, high-growth businesses understand their finance choices and, through clear practical tips, puts them in the best position to access the right finance successfully.”

During Small Business Advice Week, former Dragons’ Den investor, and member of the British Business Bank’s Board, Piers Linney will be giving UK-based companies the opportunity to win half a day of his time, during which he will offer advice and support about how they might best fund their business.

Piers Linney, Non-Executive Director at British Business Bank said: “Getting investment for your business does not have to be as scary as going into the Dragons’ Den. There are plenty of ways to get finance and access support – the challenge is knowing where to look, making the time to find out about them and getting investor ready. That’s where I hope I can be helpful; with practical support and advice on some quick wins to grow your business.

Small Business Advice Week is in its fifteenth year, running from September 3rd to the 9th, and is continuing its aim of empowering UK small businesses to grow and drive the economy forward.

Founder of Small Business Advice Week, Adam Cox, explains why British Business Bank is such a good partner: “One of the key areas of confusion and frustration for small business owners is accessing the right type of finance for their needs. We’re delighted that British Business Bank is a partner for the awareness campaign as together we can to educate and inform millions of business owners about accessing funds to grow their businesses.”

ENDS

Notes to editors:

For more information, please call 020 3958 7085, or email jack@kincomms.com

To get involved with Small Business Advice Week, click here.

Small Business Advice Week is the intellectual property of the Relations Group Ltd and can only be used for Marketing or PR purposes with the express written permission of the Relations Group or under license as part of an official partnership.

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 make finance markets for smaller businesses work more effectively, enabling those businesses to prosper, grow and build UK economic activity. 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 is currently supporting almost £5.2bn of finance to nearly 75,000 smaller businesses (as at end of March 2018).

As well as increasing both supply and diversity of finance for UK smaller businesses through its programmes, the Bank works to raise awareness of the finance options available to smaller businesses:

  • The Business Finance Guide (published in partnership with the ICAEW and a further 21 business and finance organisations) impartially sets out the range of finance options available to businesses at all stages – from start-ups to SMEs and growing mid-sized companies. Businesses can take the interactive journey at thebusinessfinanceguide.co.uk/bbb.
  • The new British Business Bank Information Hub provides everything high-growth businesses need to know about their finance options, featuring short films, expert guides, checklists and articles from finance providers to help make their application a success. The new site also features case studies and learnings from real businesses to guide businesses through the process of applying for growth finance.

As the holding company of the group operating under the trading name of British Business Bank, British Business Bank plc is wholly owned by HM Government and is not authorised or regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) or the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The British Business Bank operates under its own brand name through a number of subsidiaries, one of which is authorised and regulated by the FCA.

British Business Bank plc and its principal operating subsidiaries are not banking institutions and do not operate as such. A complete legal structure chart for British Business Bank plc and its subsidiaries can be found on the British Business Bank plc website.