British Business Bank Investments commits £30m to new UK private debt fund as it reports £11.8m profit and 6.5 per cent returns in first set of results
British Business Bank Investments (BBBI), the commercial arm of the government’s economic development bank, will today report a net profit of £11.8m from revenues of £13.9m.
BBBI’s maiden set of results will show the bank’s investment arm made a 6.5 per cent net return on its capital, ahead of targets, in the full year ending March 2015. It will declare a £10m dividend for shareholders.
City PM understands that BBBI has just invested £30m in a new UK Private Debt fund, worth £185m after the first round of fundraising, launched by asset manager Muzinich & Co.
The 10-year fund will lend to small and mid-sized companies, guaranteeing investment for the north west. It is hoping to raise £350m in total.
Commercial Secretary at the Treasury, Jim O’Neill, said: “Alternative sources of finance like this are crucial to help northern businesses expand and create new jobs, which is at the heart of our plans to rebalance the economy.”
As of the end of September, BBBI had invested £1.24, 83 per cent of its £1.5bn pot.