According to new figures, the UK Government’s economic development bank – the British Business Bank – newly supported 1,500 smaller businesses in Scotland in 2025/26.

These businesses are forecasted to create 1,900 new jobs, and support a further 15,500 existing jobs, the figures also show.

In its third annual Impact Report, published today (21 July), the Bank has estimated the supported firms will generate £800 million in additional turnover.

Further, the turnover is forecasted to deliver an uplift in economic output of £300m to Scotland’s economy, over the lifetime of the finance they’ve received.

One of the key drivers is the Bank’s £150m Investment Fund for Scotland, which has so far delivered more than £36.5m through 92 investments, reaching 83 smaller businesses and leveraging a further £33.9m in private sector finance.

The Bank is also expanding support to Glasgow City region with a new £8.5m innovation cluster, helping drive more equity investment into businesses operating in the eight priority Industrial Strategy sectors.

The Glasgow City Region Cluster, which backs university spinouts and deeptech scale-ups, has already seen investment into Highway Data Systems, a Glasgow-based tech company that automates quality assurance for road construction projects. It completed a £1.25m funding round through the Investment Fund for Scotland, managed by Maven Capital Partners.

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“The British Business Bank continues to play an important role in supporting Scotland’s smaller businesses to invest, grow and create jobs,” said Mark Sterritt, Managing Director of the Bank’s Local Growth Team.

“The latest impact figures show that our programmes are reaching businesses across the country, helping them access the finance they need to innovate, scale and realise their ambitions.

“Through initiatives such as the Investment Fund for Scotland and our growing support for regional innovation clusters, we are helping to address long-standing funding gaps and unlock opportunities for businesses in all parts of Scotland.

“We look forward to building on this momentum and working with even more ambitious firms in the year ahead.”

Today’s report also shows that 87% of the businesses newly supported by the bank in 2025/26 were based outside of London, helping to deliver more than a £100m boost to economic output in each and every UK nation and region.