British Business Bank Bewertungen 

What a frustrating experience. Over three weeks of back-and-forth, countless forms, endless proof, and a mountain of documentation, only to be rejected with zero explanation.

Most lenders can give you an answer the same day with a simple soft search, but not here. Instead, you’re left chasing answers and risking a hard search on your credit file.

To top it off, the rates aren’t even that great. Save yourself the time and hassle—there are plenty of better lenders out there who actually value your time.

I’d give it zero stars if I could. Sent in all information requested at pre- approval application. Then was asked to provide more detailed information, much of it repeated from the pre-application. Spent considerable time filling in their template and providing significant personal financial information. Emailed it off, only to be told they don’t do loans unless you own 50% of the business. A complete waste of time. They also sent hyperlinks for their privacy policy which didn’t work, I asked for it to be emailed, still didn’t appear. I asked for assurances that non of my information would be passed on, they wouldn’t give this assurance and kept referring me to the privacy policy which I couldn’t access. Unbelievable inept.

Agree with almost everyone here, I had an absolutely terrible experience with the British Business Bank applying for a startup loan. Took my time to fill in the templates what followed was incessant requests for duplicate information, constant delays and a complete waste of my time

I STRONGLY advise anyone seeking start-up funding to avoid the British Business Bank aka Start Up Loans, and explore alternatives to avoid disappointment.

This taxpayer-funded QUANGO operates with a clear ideological bias towards diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) principles.

A thorough review of their recent annual reports reveals a rigid annual allocation of loans based on fixed percentages for GENDER and ETHNICITY. This makes the application process futile for those outside their preferred ideological DEI criteria.

The application process is a bureaucratic nightmare, demanding excessive time to complete with intrusive forms. Applicants must divulge detailed personal information, only to face a farcical non-merit based review process if outside their DEI scope.

My experience with the assigned advisor was absurd. Lacking any actual UK business experience, the advisor showed gross incompetence by failing to even read my documents. I resubmitted the same information multiple times, providing 33 documents in total, before realising my application’s outcome hinged on GENDER and ETHNICITY, not my business plan.

If you doubt these claims, review the British Business Bank’s 2024 annual report online. It confirms their pursuit of DEI goals and the extent of their GENDER and ETHNIC virtue signalling - as do the 2023 and 2022 reports.

Doing this quick online search is a minor inconvenience compared to the time you would otherwise waste preparing an application and dealing with an unqualified advisor making multiple requests for the same personal information.

That a taxpayer-funded QUANGO prioritises GENDER and ETHNICITY when allocating loans financed by taxpayers is an egregious misuse of public funds. They defend this with drivel about “no other funding available elsewhere,” but the fact remains: loans are allocated on DEI principles as is clearly confirmed in their own annual reports.

Also disregard the suspiciously uniform 5-star reviews on Trustpilot. These follow an obvious formulaic pattern - praise for [insert advisor's first name here] followed by a superlative [typically "excellent"] about the quality of service received.

Not surprisingly, none of the uniform reviews ever include details about the size of the loan received or the business the loan was received for, e.g. starting a cat cafe or buying a Scottish cottage. Yes, these are actual DEI ‘businesses’ that have been allocated start up loans. In line with their DEI ideology, loans for nurseries submitted by applicants with preferred GENDER and ETHNIC backgrounds also have a statistically high probability of success.

For genuine feedback, ignore the scripted 5 star reviews, and read a few of the other 1 star reviews instead. The actual service level and treatment of applicants by this taxpayer funded QUANGO is beyond shocking.

In summary, British Business Bank aka Start Up Loans is an ideology-driven QUANGO that will waste your time and energy. Instead seek funding from sources that value business merit over DEI goals.

Really disappointing and disrespectful company.

I was offered a first interview on 03/09/24 which was not to the standard that I thought I would be interviewed. They asked such awful questions and when response was given they still questioned me a couple of times which was so immature and weird.

I never heard anything from them even after sending them 4 emails there was no response and their website and the staff that interviewed me basically are liars as they mentioned that I would hear back from them within 2 weeks and I never did.

They are one of the worst companies, liars and extremely incompetent as well.

My friend tried to use them for their business and they lied to her and were not at all helpful.

Not even worth 1 star, My friends, family and I would not even give 1 star to them for the ruthless, lies, incompetence, disrespectful service they give and also the interview process was terrible.

They mentioned to me that I would hear from them from the first interview in 2 weeks, which was a lie, as I never heard from them, I contacted them by phone and no response or they would make excuses. I emailed HR a 4 times within a month and a half and none of my emails where acknowledged. Really bad business and I would not recommend anyone to BBB.

It is one of the worst companies for business and to I would not recommend anyone to apply to work there as even the interview panel, some of the staff were extremely rude and disrespectful.

HR are ruthless and they do not even respond to emails and when I called them there was always some sort of disrespectful excuses.

Asked BBB if they had a list of financial institutions who would lend to our SSAS pension scheme. They replied saying they had had 1039 (!) responses to my enquiry, along with details of various schemes, although none of them mentioned SSASs. When I clicked on the link to download the 1039 responses it wouldn't let me access them. I asked why not and they said the response button I pressed was irrelevant! I asked again whether they could answer my original question but have so far had no reply.

Myself and several other people have had their businesses flagged at Companies House as not paying Bounce Back Loans by the British Business Bank and the UK Governemnt. Rather than contacting business owners they just flagged the businesses. Impossible to contact.

It seems the current uk governemnt is out to curtail any free speech.

I am sorry but calling out your bad service is not defamation. I object to you using tax payer's money to stop bad reviews which highlight poor customer service.

I am going to keep at this, doesn't matter how many times you try and flag legitimate reviews.

I am concerned Trustpilot are entertaining organisations just flagging legitimate complaints as "may be defamatory" either it is or it isn't?

Defamation can only apply to untrue statements I have an email trail and settlement letter proving what happened.

Initially before I applied for a loan from British business bank I was pretty sceptical due to the poor reviews, I have to say that the service that I received was very good. I asked to borrow 7k over 4 years. It says about making a business plan whcih I put a lot of time into. I was accepted and received the funds within 2 weeks of me sending of my application.

It seems to me the more information you provide and the more in-depth you are, the quicker the process will be.

FYI my credit is 323 and I’m 24, but my business plan was very solid and they can see its very scalable and sustainable.
I’ve had real issue sorting the funds for my business and British business bank has made it happen and I’m very grateful for that.
I recommend to anyone to give it a go, just be prepared to do a lot of work on the business plan, cash flow projections and all that stuff, good luck!

At no point during the application process or on their website is it clearly stated that they are a lender of last resort. This is a crucial piece of information, and transparency around such a requirement would have been appreciated from the outset.

Most businesses could more easily qualify for a loan from a traditional high street bank. Even as an individual, I would have been offered an unsecured loan with fewer barriers and far less administrative work than what we’ve experienced with this facility. Pursuing a Start-up Loan has proven to be an unnecessary drain on our time and resources, and it has actively hindered our productivity and business growth.

This feels like just another government quango, consuming public funds without delivering real value or showing any true business acumen. As for their so-called 'mentorship', it is non-existent.

I’m left questioning whether facilities like this, funded by public money, are genuinely aimed at supporting a thriving economy or simply adding another layer of bureaucratic red tape for small businesses. From my experience, they seem far more focused on the process than on helping businesses succeed.

I WAS WRONG , GOT MY MONEY BACK PHOTOS

Submitted all the required information, business is financially viable, (confirmed as I have got funding elsewhere), its just a tick box exercise for the government. I dont know anyone who has successfully got more than a few thousands of pounds from them

Utterly hopeless. Everything submitted Dec 2023. Constant chasing asking if anything else required.."no" then weeks later requests for further information, or send what already sent but in a different format, timed out on the credit check....resubmitted.....chasing for the umpteenth time....now require more and later bank statements........now more questions, none of which asked before. Do not waste your time with BBB.

i made an application in March 10th, i filled out all the documents on the website.

i spoke to the advisor Nathan, which he contacted me and told me the whole process and what I needed to do was absloutely good work from him.

he then sent me documents by email and business templates which i used, i put in what i am selling and the prices of everything of the costs etc, it was all straight forward. took me about 2 hours to do it all but if you already have business plans and a forcecast it's much quicker.

i then spoke to the finance company they are partnered with and my loan application has been approved today.

i spoke to them and they said i got approved, and i will receive the documentation by email today or tomorrow for the funds.

highly recommend British business bank, and GC Business.

I have a start-up company and I got a loan in a month. I found the process quick. I think as long you have your business plan clear and simple that makes things easy to fill up their templates. They do a lot of investigation into your bank accounts and ask a lot of questions, but I guess that's their job. I did not got what I asked for, I got less,for a few reasons that they clarified, but all worked well in the end.

Swig Finance is one the banks choice for British Business Bank, whom, unfortunately has appointed a number of "start up loans officers" with a little to none knowledge about the transport industry. 6 months of wasting my time to come to a conclusion that the loan is designed for business that cannot rely on a sole source of income. 95% of the transport industry relies on loyalty. A factory must have a company that collects they goods every day at the same time. Unlike a high street shop or a cafe, the Transport industry runs on medium to long term contracts with one haulage.

Waste of time !
Absolutely not here to legitimately help start up.
Advisor clearly had not familiarised himself or even read 22 plan ( as requested). Clearly had no clue or knowledge of catering business.
Constantly moved goal posts, literally jumped through hoops ….. not even served a coffee and the stress was unbelievable from these jokers.!
Total Scam the ‘Government start up’ they absolutely do not want anyone earning a good living . Do not waste your energy or time.

After reading the reviews here i was very discouraged , however i decided to give it a shot. To my utmost surprise the process was seamless. My adviser was Kieran. He made the experience seem so easy and encouraging. In fact he advised my husband and i apply and we were both granted in less than 1 month. Kieran is an asset in this job i must say. Please do not allow anyone to discourage you. And take every negative review here with a pinch of salt.

There is a company, operating as British Business Investments under the British Business Banking Website and credentials. website: www bbbinv co uk These people are scamming innocent people via social media, email, WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram. Tell you to invest in startup business and you get a 30min/daily/weekly return on your investment......Take your "initial investment" then charge you a "release fee", then charge you a "1st time client fee" the charge list is endless and you WILL NOT GET ANY OF YOUR MONEY BACK. I know that British Business Banking is a legal UK Government website and organisation but how can they allow for such a crime to be committed under their name and reputation? It's a absolute disgrace!!

Government Con - we were offered a loan, but with a commission matching the potential interest payment. Before this government QuANGO got involved an SME could simply get a loan from their bank, now us "amazing innovators" get offered loans from the BBB with a 3.5% upfront commission.This ridiculous organisation more than triples the cost of getting finance from the offset...

I spent days completing the application form for the loan, which was in the end rejected. The basis of the rejection was the information in the personal bank statement that was submitted with the application. It took days to complete the application, and before one completes the application, you have to pass a credit check. Why can they not ask applicants to submit bank statements as part of the credit check at the start, instead of spending a lot of time to complete the application and then learning that the information on the bank statement is the main criterion for rejecting the loan?

This is an appalling waste of time.