British Business Bank

How do innovative ideas turn into successful businesses? In the latest episode of The Backed Story, Natalie Gasson-McKinley MBE MBA sits down with Varun Bhanot, co-founder and CEO of MAGIC AI, an award-winning UK tech company behind an AI fitness mirror designed to make personal training more accessible. Varun shares how a personal fitness journey led to the launch of MAGIC AI, talks about turning rejection into opportunities and how AI can help accelerate the growth of smaller businesses. From a first prototype created with funding from Start Up Loans Company to recently ranking 4th in the Times Tech 100, MAGIC AI shows how important our programme is for bringing brilliant business ideas to life. Watch the full episode via the link in the comments 👇

Great to see Quantexa's continued success – a fantastic example of UK innovation going from strength to strength. Having recognised their potential as a innovative tech leader early on, we’re delighted to have supported their impressive growth journey. Our investment in Quantexa reflects our mission to back ambitious innovators, helping them scale into world-class businesses, create high-quality jobs and drive economic growth across the UK.

From early-stage funding to orbit 🛰️ Oxford Space Systems is now deploying cutting-edge antenna technology in space – but that journey started with the right backing at the right time. With support from British Business Bank-backed funds, including Longwall Ventures and IQ Capital, OSS secured the early investment needed to build its engineering team, develop and test its technology, and scale its UK manufacturing capabilities. OSS also received secured debt financing from SPRK Capital across 2024 and 2025, supporting the company during a key phase of its development. That support has helped the company grow and reach a major milestone in 2026 with the successful launch of its CarbSAR IOD satellite – marking the first in-orbit deployment of its foldable antenna. A strong example of how long-term investment helps innovative UK businesses scale, compete globally and bring breakthrough technology to market.

AI is attracting significant equity investment as investors focus on innovation. Over the first three quarters of 2025, AI companies raised £2.9bn across 323 equity deals, accounting for around two-fifths of total UK equity investment. Download our #SBFM2026 report to find out more 👇

Last week at Innovation Zero, our CEO Louis Taylor CBE delivered a keynote on the role finance must play in the UK’s transition to net zero 🌱 Louis set out why smaller businesses are critical to delivering climate goals and how the Bank is helping them access the finance needed to invest, innovate and scale. From clean energy innovation and regional growth to mobilising private and institutional capital, sustainability is embedded across all our activity. Through our Five Year Strategic Plan, we’re increasing the scale of our investment, taking more risk where it matters, and crowding in private capital to support the technologies, businesses and places that will shape the UK’s net zero future.

When it comes to fintech, the UK has a lot to be proud of 💪 The UK is a global financial services hub, with 11.3% of global fintech VC investment going to UK companies. From improving access to finance to boosting productivity, fintech is a priority growth sector for the UK 🚀 Fintech is also delivering a huge impact for smaller businesses: 📊 60% of gross bank lending to smaller businesses in 2025 was provided by challenger and specialist banks. We have played a key role in building this world‑leading sector, but there is still so much potential ahead. By supporting fintech and other priority growth sectors, we’re helping ensure the most promising businesses have the capital they need to scale and stay in the UK 🤝 #UKFintechWeek Innovate Finance

This week, our Chief Strategy Officer Kristen McLeod CBE shared evidence with the Women and Equalities Select Committee as part of its inquiry into female entrepreneurship, contributing to a thoughtful discussion on access to finance and long‑term growth. Progress is being made, but barriers remain – particularly around equity for women‑led businesses. At the Bank, we’re focused on closing these gaps and ensuring more founders across the UK can access the capital they need to thrive.

✨ UK Fintech Week spotlight “British Business Bank is one of the easiest organisations to work with.” A great testimonial from Paul Taylor, CEO and founder of Thought Machine One of the unicorns in our portfolio, fintech Thought Machine is helping modernise banking technology to make processes easy and efficient for the banks and their customers 🦄

Creativity and innovation are what UK fintech does best 💡 We’re proud to have backed some of the sector’s most well‑known and impactful disruptors. In fact, 65% of current UK financial services unicorns sit within our equity portfolio 🦄 To mark World Creativity and Innovation Day, we’re shining a spotlight on just a few of the businesses we’ve supported: 🌍📱Revolut is redefining digital banking for millions of customers worldwide ☁️🏦Thought Machine is powering next generation banking through cloud native technology 💳📊Monzo Bank is making money management simpler, smarter and more transparent 📈🔍Marshmallow is using data and technology to make insurance more accessible 🔄💼GoCardless is transforming how businesses collect and manage payments globally

UK Fintech Week is back celebrating the sector’s achievements and looking ahead to what’s next 🚀 We’re looking forward to the Innovate Finance Global Summit, starting tomorrow. Our CEO Louis Taylor CBE Taylor will be taking part in the “FinTech and Capital Markets: Bridging Innovation and Institutional Finance” fireside chat, exploring how fintech can scale through institutional capital. 📅 21 April | 4pm 👉 Find out more and register here: https://lnkd.in/eFG7TFbE #UKFintechWeek #IFGS2026 #Fintech