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Triple honours for British Business Investments in King’s New Year honours list 2025

Press release 31 December 2024

British Business Investments Chair, Louis Taylor, has been awarded a CBE for services to Business and Trade in the King’s New Year honours list 2025. In addition, former British Business Investments CEO Catherine Lewis La Torre has been awarded a CBE for services to Business, and former British Business Investments CEO, Judith Hartley, has also been awarded an MBE for services to Business.


Louis Taylor CBE, Chair, British Business Investments, said

I am delighted to have received this Honour from His Majesty. Importantly, it highlights the genuinely outstanding and productive work done by so many colleagues over the years at both UK Export Finance and the British Business Bank in the service of UK business and trade, and I thank them for that.

Catherine Lewis La Torre CBE said

It’s truly wonderful to be recognised for the impact achieved for businesses across the UK arising from the different roles I held at the Bank. The unwavering support of my teams, peers and colleagues was the vital ingredient which made the successful delivery of ambitious outcomes possible. This was true whether I was serving as Interim CEO of the British Business Bank, appointed by the Secretary of State for Business to lead the Bank though the Covid crisis, or as the foundational CEO of British Patient Capital, launched to address the market failure for scale-up capital in the UK and, in my first role as CEO of the British Business Investments, resetting the investment strategy to provide a broader range of lending and credit options for SMEs.

Judith Hartley MBE said

I am really thrilled to receive this honour in recognition of services to business. Supporting the UK’s smaller businesses has been a constant throughout my career, and I could not have achieved any of this without the brilliant colleagues and leadership teams I have worked with at British Business Investments, British Patient Capital and the British Business Bank.

King's New Year honours list 2025

ENDS

Further Information

Notes to editors

About British Business Investments

British Business Investments Limited is a wholly owned commercial subsidiary of British Business Bank plc the UK government’s economic development bank. British Business Investments aims to improve access to alternative finance for smaller businesses across the whole of the UK, while supporting the UK’s transition to a net zero economy and generating a return for the UK taxpayer. Find out more at bbinv.co.uk.

British Business Investments Limited is registered in England and Wales with company number 09091930, and registered office at Steel City House, West Street, Sheffield, S1 2GQ. British Business Bank plc is owned by HM Government and is registered in England and Wales with company number 08616013, and registered office at Steel City House, West Street, Sheffield, S1 2GQ.

British Business Bank plc and its subsidiary entities are not banking institutions and do not operate as such. They are not authorised or regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) or the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). A complete legal structure chart for the group can be found on the British Business Bank plc website.
 

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