The British Business Bank (BBB) was supporting £12.2 billion of lending to over 96,000 businesses at the end of March 2022, according to its annual report.
As part of its role in reducing regional imbalances the BBB was deploying £900 million of finance and supporting almost 83,000 businesses outside London at the end of March 2022.
In addition, its Regional Angels programme made six new commitments totalling £45 million, to help reduce regional imbalances in access to seed and early-stage equity finance for smaller businesses across the UK.
And its Start Up Loans programme was allocated a further three years of funding, which will deliver around 11,000 loans.
Catherine Lewis La Torre, CEO, British Business Bank, said:
We have increased our impact and market reach to smaller businesses across the UK's regions and nations and designed innovative programmes while at the same time generating an attractive return on capital employed.
Despite this success over the last financial year, we are aware that areas of economic and geopolitical uncertainty remain. The serious headwinds that the economy is encountering make a national economic development bank an invaluable strategic asset, and we are ready and prepared to play whatever role is required to support UK smaller businesses.'
Prime Accountants Group has announced Morgan Davies as our new managing director, succeeding the long-serving Kevin Johns.
Morgan formally takes over the role on September 1 as part of our advanced succession planning, which has been taking place behind the scenes for some time.
Kevin Johns
Kevin has worked for Prime for 31 years and has been its managing director since 2015.
As well as holding the positions of Solihull BID chairman and vice-president of the Solihull Chamber of Commerce, Kevin has spearheaded Prime’s fundraising efforts, which have seen the business raise tens of thousands of pounds for charities such as Solihull Life Opportunities (SoLO) and Birmingham Children’s Hospital.
Morgan Davies
Morgan is one of the four original founding partners of Prime from 2007 and steps up from his role as director overseeing our audit and accounts department.
While Kevin is stepping down as managing director, he will continue to work with his portfolio of clients and remains on the senior leadership team.
To facilitate Morgan taking on his new role, fellow directors Jeremy Kitson and Paul Guise will take over his responsibility for audit and accounts.
Succession Planning
Kevin, who was awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) in the New Year’s Honours list in 2019 for services to Solihull, said: “I’ve planned to gradually retire over the next few years, so handing over to Morgan now means we will have a far more controlled and better transition.
“I’ll still be part of the leadership team, I’m still looking after my clients but I just won’t be leading on the day-to-day anymore.
“I said when we marked my 30th anniversary with Prime that I’ve been leaving for a long time! This is long-term succession planning and a natural progression in any business. I’m passing the baton to someone in Morgan who is exceptionally capable and well-positioned to keep the firm on exactly the right path.”
The promotion comes in a milestone year for Morgan, who has worked for the firm for 20 years and has been in practice for 30 years.
He said: “This is part of a succession plan we have worked hard on. I’ve been audit and accounts lead ever since I’ve been here at Prime, which is effectively half the firm, as well as being part of the senior leadership team.
“The experience that gives you is seeing every element of the business up close. It’s a natural fit, we work closely together and I have supported Kev for years.
“The culture of this company is to develop people and empower them to succeed and grow, and this demonstrates that with aplomb. As I move up to managing director, two very capable directors in Paul and Jeremy move up to audit and accounts – it’s good for everyone within the pyramid at Prime.”
About the Author: Paul Guise
