Behind the scenes, the British Business Bank is working hard to enable smaller Scottish businesses to more easily access the finance they need to thrive. Rather than lend to or invest in businesses directly, the Bank supports more than 120 delivery partners, most of which do. Find out in this Business Gateway article how the British Business Bank is supporting business growth in Scotland.

In Scotland alone, the Bank’s Start Up Loans programme has made 3,675 loans and counting since 2012 – totalling almost £27m. It’s also committed £80m to three top venture capital funds in Scotland, which help to fund innovative Scottish enterprises. The Bank also provides it Enterprise Finance Guarantee to lenders to enable them to support businesses they might otherwise have to turn away for lack of security.

Yes, if you are thinking about starting, or already run, a business in Scotland.

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Smaller businesses based in Scotland and the rest of the UK.

Read our article on the British Business Bank in 3 minutes.

A recent British Business Bank survey revealed that Scotland’s SMEs lag behind when it comes to considering using more external finance. In fact, more SMEs in Scotland than any other part of the UK would opt to grow more slowly rather than speed up the process by borrowing.

Visit the Business Gateway website for more advice on the British Business Bank.