The facility has been made under the bank's ENABLE programme and will allow 1pm to significantly expand its asset finance lending to UK small businesses.

The new funding increases the total funding facilities available to 1pm to over ?£155m.

James Roberts, chief financial officer at 1pm, said the lender was delighted to be working with the BBB to facilitate further funding for SMEs.

“Deploying this funding helps to achieve our [ongoing] mission to provide access to finance to a broad range of UK SME businesses [while] improving shareholder returns through lower borrowing costs and, crucially, through a longer-term, secured funding line.

“The ENABLE facility from BBB represents an important new element in the group's mix of funding facilities, further bolstering our ability to grow our asset, loan, vehicles and invoice financing activities by providing an even wider range of cashflow solutions to the UK SME market."

Bernie Skivington, director of guarantee and wholesale solutions at the British Business Bank, said the bank worked to increase the flow of finance to the UK's smaller businesses.

“Our ENABLE funding programme is an important part of our support to asset finance providers like 1pm plc as they scale up their lending to smaller businesses, helping those businesses invest in the equipment they need to grow and succeed.'

Last year the BBB agreed a significant funding agreement through its ENABLE funding programme with United Trust Bank to support SME housebuilders.