Liberal Democrat Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills Vince Cable has announced today that the British Business Bank will be given £250m for new programmes to help small businesses grow.

The intent to set up a British Business Bank was announced by Vince Cable at the Liberal Democrat Autumn Conference in September 2012 with £1bn of new funds to get money flowing to small businesses as fast as possible to help them expand.

This latest cash boost will support a range of new innovative interventions including capital support for new businesses.

Liberal Democrats in Government are committed to helping small business in order to boost growth and rebalance the economy.

The British Business Bank will be based in Sheffield.

Commenting, Liberal Democrat Leader and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said:

"Liberal Democrats are building a stronger economy in a fairer society enabling everyone to get on in life.

"Small businesses are working hard to fuel our recovery and help us build a stronger economy.

"I am determined that we do all we can to help companies that have struggled to get the investment they need. Investment that means they can employ those extra people, take on that new order, and buy new equipment.

"The British Business Bank will give smaller companies who have struggled to get loans in the past easier access to millions of pounds of cash to grow and create more jobs."

Vince Cable with Julia Cambridge(PPC for Chesterfield) and Phil Knowles (European Candidate)

"The British Business Bank is the second bank this Government has set up since 2010 and is focused on helping SMEs grow.

"It is a new long-term institution which is helping to create more competition in the banking sector and give access to finance to businesses who are currently struggling with high street banks, to get the cash they need to invest in their future growth.

"Since I announced this initiative more than 10,000 businesses have already been helped and this new money will help it do more of that. The British Business Bank is fixing a big long term problem in our banking system and it is set to unlock up to £10bn of finance over the next five years to help small and medium sized businesses grow

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The Facts

1) The British Business Bank is a key element of the government's strategy to make the UK the best place in Europe to start, grow and finance a business.

2) The Business Bank is set up as an economic development bank, to support economic growth by creating more effective and efficient finance markets for viable smaller businesses in the UK.

3) By bringing existing and new initiatives together the Bank will manage a coherent and comprehensive portfolio of support for UK businesses. Consolidating access to finance schemes within one institution with the financial freedom to reallocate resources between schemes will enable public money to be utilised most effectively.

4) The Bank works with the market to address market weaknesses bringing together public and private sector funds.

5) Over £600m of lending and investments now supported on an annualised basis.

6) 8,000 businesses supported in the year to June 2013 as a result of Business Bank programmes.

7) The Enterprise Finance Guarantee scheme (EFG) facilitated £86.4m of drawn-down loans in Q3 2013, which is up 17% on the previous year and the highest level since 2010. We have also expanded the scope of EFG which for the first time supports the provision of business-to-business trade credit, principally to firms in the construction sector who lack the track-record to obtain the finance they need. Over 2000 businesses have been provided with credit facilities in excess of £12m.

8) The Bank's £300m Investment Programme made its first two commitments on 6 November 2013, with total investment of £45m being made into two funds targeting high-growth potential SMEs. These investments will unlock up to £125m with private sector contribution.

9) The Business Bank's success will not be measured by the scale of its own resources and investments, but by the aggregate level of funds unlocked and a more diverse, competitive landscape in finance markets for SMEs.