The state-owned British Business Bank sank to a loss for the second successive year as a dip in valuations of private companies continued to be felt in its accounts.

The government’s economic development agency recorded a loss of £122 million for the year to the end of March, after a loss of £135 million in the previous 12 months, amid a broader downturn in private equity markets.

Louis Taylor, the chief executive of the bank, said that the unrealised losses reflected “short-term falls in the book valuation of long-term investments, rather than actual cash losses”.

The bank recorded a profit of £453 million in 2022, in part thanks to a rise in the value of its portfolio after technology stocks boomed during the pandemic.

Taylor