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Innovate UK and British Business Bank sign memorandum of understanding

Press release 16 April 2024

  • Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the national innovation agency and the UK government-owned economic development bank.
  • Heightened collaboration aims to help create new pathways for business investment and promote growth through innovation.

Innovate UK and the British Business Bank have further strengthened their collaboration by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). As partners dedicated to fostering innovation and growth of UK businesses across the country, this new collaboration will see the two organisations working even more closely together to co-create new opportunities to promote investment and to support UK businesses through better tailored offerings.

This MoU signifies:

  • Building pathways for businesses that seek British Business Bank or Innovate UK funding to provide more co-ordinated support throughout their growth journey
  • Promoting growth across the Nations and Regions of the UK through co-ordinated place-based activities
  • Combining the expertise of Innovate UK and the British Business Bank to develop more tailored offerings for smaller businesses

As priorities over the next 12 months, Innovate UK and the British Business Bank will work to establish clear pathways for collaboration, from data sharing to co-creation of events.

As the UK’s innovation agency, Innovate UK is dedicated to supporting inclusive innovation, accelerating companies on their innovation and growth journey, from commercialisation, through startup, to scaleup, and on to enterprise scale.

The British Business Bank’s mission is to drive sustainable growth and prosperity across the UK, and to enable the transition to a net zero economy, by improving access to finance for smaller businesses.

Through collaborations such as with the British Business Bank, Innovate UK is dedicated to providing better targeted and more comprehensive growth support for UK businesses.

Indro Mukerjee, CEO, Innovate UK said:

As the UK’s innovation agency, Innovate UK works to support the growth journeys of innovative UK businesses, from start up to scale up and beyond. The MOU and practical action plan with the British Business Bank are important steps to further build our support for economic growth, increased productivity, and skilled jobs.

Louis Taylor, Chief Executive Officer, British Business Bank, said: 

This Memorandum of Understanding between the British Business Bank and Innovate UK is a fantastic development, with the potential to foster greater innovation and growth for UK smaller businesses. Given our complementary roles in the market, closer collaboration with Innovate UK will help us develop a far better pathway for great innovation to be commercialised in the UK, benefiting the economy, jobs and the innovation ecosystem that we want to thrive.

Notes to editors

About Innovate UKM

Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, is the UK’s innovation agency. It works to create a better future by inspiring, involving and investing in businesses developing life-changing innovations. Its mission is to help companies to grow through their development and commercialisation of new products, processes and services, supported by an outstanding innovation ecosystem that is agile, inclusive and easy to navigate.

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 drive sustainable growth and prosperity across the UK and to enable the transition to a net zero economy, by improving access to finance for smaller businesses. 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 over £12.4bn 1  of finance to more than 90,000 smaller businesses 2 .

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. Wholly owned by HM government, the Bank 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.

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