Rachel Reeves expands Growth Guarantee Scheme to unlock £2 bn for UK SMEs

Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced a major expansion of the Growth Guarantee Scheme (GGS), a British Business Bank programme that provides a 70 % government guarantee on commercial loans of up to £2 million to small and medium‑sized enterprises. The reforms will add about £2 billion of new financing each year from 2028/29, raising total annual support to £3.35 billion. Loan terms are extended from six to ten years for amounts up to £1.1 million and the eligibility threshold for annual turnover rises from £45 million to £54 million, allowing roughly 12,000 additional firms per year – about 20,000 in total – to access credit.

A £500 million allocation to the ENABLE Guarantee programme will target innovative, IP‑rich SMEs that lack physical assets, while a £10 million philanthropic fund supports community‑development finance institutions. The government also announced a joint UK Export Finance‑British Business Bank export‑finance scheme, due to launch in spring 2027, aimed at helping thousands of exporters obtain working‑capital and term loans.

The package is presented as one of Reeves’s final policy moves before leaving the Treasury, intended to boost investment, job creation and regional growth across the United Kingdom.