British Business Bank welcomes outcome of Integrated Review

Press release 16 March 2021

Published today, the Integrated Review is a comprehensive articulation of the UK Government’s approach to foreign policy and national security.

The National Security Strategic Investment Fund (NSSIF), the government’s corporate venturing arm for dual-use advanced technologies, plays a key role in fostering technological innovation. A joint initiative between the UK Government and the British Business Bank, NSSIF supports the provision of long-term equity capital, needed by companies developing new capabilities in areas of strategic importance such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing and sensor technology.

As joint partners in the National Security Strategic Investment Fund, we welcome the publication of today’s Integrated Review. Going forward, we will continue to play a major role in accelerating the development of dual-use advanced technologies, helping to build the UK as a science and technology superpower. - Patrick Magee British Business Bank Chief Commercial Officer

NSSIF makes commercial investments in equity funds and businesses focused on the government’s National Security Strategic Technology Areas of Interest.

Notes to editors

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’s core programmes support nearly £8bn Read footnote text 1  of finance to almost 94,800 smaller businesses Read footnote text 2 . Since March 2020, the British Business Bank has also launched four new Coronavirus business loan schemes, delivering almost £73bn of finance to 1.6m businesses.

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 British Business Bank Finance Hub provides independent and impartial information to businesses about their finance options, featuring short films, expert guides, checklists and articles from finance providers to help make their application a success.

In light of the coronavirus pandemic and EU Exit, the Finance Hub has expanded and it now targets a wider business audience. It continues to provide information and support for scale-up, high growth and potential high growth businesses, but now provides increased content, information and products for businesses in survival and recovery mindsets. The Finance Hub has been redesigned and repositioned to reflect this, during this period of economic uncertainty.

British Business Bank plc is a public limited company registered in England and Wales, registration number 08616013, registered office at Steel City House, West Street, Sheffield, S1 2GQ. It is a development bank wholly owned by HM Government. British Business Bank plc and its subsidiaries are not banking institutions and do not operate as such. They are not authorised or regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) or the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). A complete legal structure chart for the group can be found at british-business-bank.co.uk.