The UK’s new business lender British Business Bank, created to support and encourage lending to SMEs, has been given the green light by the European Commission.
The Commission confirmed that the bank, set to open before the end of October, doesn’t break any state aid rules.
Created by the coalition last year, the bank will support lending to small and medium-sized businesses that have been hit by stymied bank funding in the wake of the recession.
The intention is to facilitate lending, rather than to compete with existing lenders, by bringing Government schemes together and injecting £1 billion into lending to help more traditional finance providers get moving again. It will also lessen the burden of losses on a portfolio of new loans to companies.
Vince Cable said the new bank is aiming for its first deal with a lender to guarantee some of its loans before the end of October.
The guarantee will be particularly useful for “challenger” banks, the business secretary said, in lending to small companies needing finance and will “expand their scale quite significantly”.
Andrew Van der Lem, one of the bank’s managing directors, said: “We’ll announce the first transaction and then open it to a wider range of participants.” 
Bring to the market this leasehold specialist car sales and servicing facility located in Horncastle, Lincolnshire. The trade was established as a limited company in 2005.
LEASEHOLD
The company is an online vehicle purchasing platform, providing a fast, hassle-free car-selling service for the end user. A competitor to the likes of webuyanycar.com and Motorway, the company is a well-established online vehicle purchasing platform...
Bringing to the market this denim and casual wear retailer, boating a user friendly comprehensive online presence.
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