Louis Taylor, CEO of the British Business Bank, has been awarded a CBE for services to business and trade in the King’s New Year Honours List 2025.

Catherine Lewis La Torre, former CEO of the Bank’s commercial subsidiaries and interim CEO of the British Business Bank, also received a CBE for services to business, while Judith Hartley, former CEO of British Business Investments and interim CEO of British Patient Capital, was awarded an MBE.

Louis Taylor CBE 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.”

Taylor became CEO of the British Business Bank in 2022 after serving as Chief Executive of UK Export Finance for seven years and holding senior roles in the Department for International Trade.

His earlier career included leadership positions at Standard Chartered Bank and JP Morgan. Taylor is also a trustee of Sightsavers and has previously chaired Music in Prisons and the Royal Grammar School in Newcastle upon Tyne.

Catherine Lewis La Torre CBE, who served as interim CEO of the British Business Bank during the Covid crisis from 2020 to 2022, reflected on her recognition: “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.”

La Torre joined the British Business Bank in 2016 and became the first CEO of British Patient Capital upon its launch in 2018. She is now a Non-Executive Director of Cumulus Oncology and an Independent Director of Alantra Partners. She holds an MPA and a BSc in Economics from the London School of Economics.

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.”

Hartley served as interim CEO of British Business Investments and British Patient Capital from 2020 to 2022 before becoming permanent CEO of British Business Investments.

She previously led the Bank’s UK Network and Lending Solutions divisions. Based in the North East, Hartley is also a Non-Executive Director of Northstar Ventures UK and NEL Fund Managers.

The British Business Bank, established in 2014, designs and manages access to finance programmes for smaller businesses, working with over 200 delivery partners.

By the end of March 2024, its core programmes had supported £17.4bn in finance to over 64,000 businesses across the UK.