The British Business Bank has reached a major milestone in its mission to support smaller businesses across the UK, with more than £5 billion now delivered through its ENABLE structured guarantee programmes.
Since the first transaction in 2017, the ENABLE Guarantees and ENABLE Build schemes have backed lending to a wide range of sectors — most notably construction and housing — and have channelled over £3 billion to businesses located outside London and the South East. Notably, the North West, East Midlands and East of England each received close to £500 million of funding.
The ENABLE programmes are designed to help unlock lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by providing lenders with a government-backed guarantee on defined portfolios of debt. Participating banks and non-bank financial institutions are incentivised to offer more funding, including to higher-risk but viable businesses, with the guarantee absorbing a portion of the potential losses.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves welcomed the milestone as a tangible sign of her government’s strategy for growth.
“This £5 billion lending milestone is our Plan for Change in action,” she said. “It’s helping to deliver targeted investment where it’s needed most — supporting local businesses, accelerating housebuilding, and putting more money in people’s pockets.”
In particular, ENABLE Build — the construction-focused arm of the programme — has helped drive £1.2 billion of lending to SME housebuilders and supported the construction of 5,866 new homes to date.
Michael Strevens, Managing Director of Structured Financial Institutions at the British Business Bank, said the results speak to the success of the bank’s evolving approach. “It’s incredibly rewarding to reflect on the volume of lending to SMEs and the number of homes built that we’ve helped enable over the years,” he said. “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 £5bn — and do so with greater pace and purpose.”
Private sector partners have echoed the programme’s impact. United Trust Bank (UTB) — the first lender to pilot ENABLE Build — has now deployed over £1 billion in guaranteed lending across both ENABLE schemes. “We’ve delivered nearly 450 loan facilities to SME housebuilders, supporting the creation of around 4,700 new homes,” said Adam Bovingdon, Head of Property Development at UTB. “ENABLE is an excellent example of successful state and private sector cooperation.”
Ravi Anand, Managing Director of alternative lender ThinCats, described ENABLE as “a huge contributor” to the £1 billion of post-COVID funding it has delivered. “The scheme does what it says on the tin — enabling senior bank appetite to allow ThinCats to fund the growth initiatives of UK mid-sized SMEs.”
The Federation of Master Builders also praised the programme’s contribution to diversifying the housing market. “Financing is one of the top issues holding back small developers from building new homes,” said Chief Executive Brian Berry. “The ENABLE Build scheme helps aid the diversification needed to deliver the government’s ambition of 1.5 million new homes.”
With the UK’s economic growth increasingly reliant on unlocking regional productivity and SME resilience, the ENABLE programmes are now seen as critical to supporting the nation’s recovery and long-term ambitions. The Bank says it will continue to expand the initiative, aiming to reach the next £5 billion milestone “with greater pace and purpose.”
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British Business Bank hits £5bn milestone fuelling regional growth and housebuilding