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East Midlands milestone

Press release 28 December 2022

Over £50 million in Start Up Loans has been delivered to businesses in the East Midlands.

  • Since launching in 2012, Start Up Loans has delivered more than 5,000 loans worth over £50 million across the East Midlands with the average loan being £9,183
  • Counties across the East Midlands receiving the most funding since 2012 include Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire
  • 45% of the total value of loans in the East Midlands delivered since the pandemic began

Start Up Loans, part of the British Business Bank, has delivered more than 5,000 loans worth more than £50 million to businesses in the East Midlands. The figures point to the spirit of entrepreneurship across the East Midlands.

Of these loans, 1,805 amounting to more than £23.2 million were drawn down in the region since the pandemic began; this equates to 45% of the total value of loans delivered over the lifetime of the programme.

Impressive figures for entrepreneurship during the pandemic show how people have been helped by Start Up Loans to launch their own businesses when conditions in the job market were difficult.

UK Region

Loans Made

Amount Lent (£)

Average Loan Amount (£)

East Midlands

5,591

51,242,029

9,183

UK Total

99,744

934,536,157

9,369

Top counties across the East Midlands include Nottinghamshire, which received more than £13 million in funding, and Derbyshire which received over £11 million in funding.

Of the total 5,591 loans in the East Midlands, 44% have been to women and 18% to people from Black, Asian and Other Ethnic Minority backgrounds (not including White Minorities). Young people between 18-24 years old have received 17% of the loans in the region since 2012, and 7% of the total loans made to people in the same age bracket nationally since the programme began in 2012.

If we are to unlock economic growth, we need to remove the barriers faced by the UK’s most innovative entrepreneurs when it comes to accessing funding and growing their business. Backed by more than 5,591 loans worth more than £51 million our most dynamic small businesses across the East Midlands have been able to tap into government support to flourish and fast-track their business ideas and innovations to market. - Kevin Hollinrake Small Business Minister
It’s a testament to the entrepreneurial spirit of the East Midlands that we’re celebrating such a significant milestone, more than £50 million, invested across the Eastern regions since 2012. I am particularly proud of the fact that we have been able to support such a huge volume of young aspiring business people and their start up ventures in the East, which represents 7% of the total across the entire of the UK. - Sophie Dale-Black UK Network Director, Midlands and North of England

Case study profile

Joezy Uweh and Amy White, founder of Naturawell, Lincoln, East Midlands

Joezy and his business partner Amy, took out funding from Start Up Loans to set up Naturawell in 2021, a plant-based bar and restaurant serving healthy and delicious food and drinks. The business offers a range of healthy products including freshly prepared salad bowls, fresh juices, pancakes, toasties, bagels and smoothie bowls. The couple were inspired by actions taken by society to tackle social and environmental issues and are determined to promote healthy living habits. All of Naturawell’s food and drinks are made from scratch upon request so freshness is always on the table.

UK RegionCounty

Loans Made

Amount Lent (£)

Average Loans Amount (£)

East MidlandsNottinghamshire

1,405

13,042,822

9,283

East MidlandsDerbyshire

1,347

11,169,604

8,292

East MidlandsLeicestershire

1,044

9,974,636

9,554

East MidlandsLincolnshire

919

8,086,540

8,799

East MidlandsNorthamptonshire

834

8,627,399

10,345

East MidlandsRutland (UA)

42

442,029

10,525

Total 

5,591

51,343,029

9,183

Notes to editors

About Start Up Loans

The Start Up Loans programme provides personal loans for business purposes of up to £25,000 at a 6% fixed interest rate per annum and offers free dedicated mentoring and support to each business.

The primary aim of the Start Up Loans programme is to ensure that viable start-ups and early-stage businesses have access to the finance and support they need in order to thrive. A network of Delivery Partner organisations supports applicants in all regions and industries throughout the UK. The Start Up Loans programme is not designed to generate a commercial profit. Capital payments together with the interest are recycled to help meet our customers’ increasing demands for finance.

Free guides on a range of subjects related to starting a business and recent media press releases are available on the Start Up Loans website.

The funding for the Start Up Loans programme is provided by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). A development bank wholly government-owned by BEIS, the British Business Bank plc is not authorised or regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) or the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The British Business Bank and its subsidiary entities are not banking institutions and do not operate as such.

The British Business Bank makes finance markets for smaller businesses work better, helping the sector to prosper, to grow and to build economic activity.

Key Statistics

  • Since its inception in 2012, the Start Up Loans scheme has delivered almost 99,800 loans, providing more than £934 million of funding.
  • In the financial year 2021/22, the scheme provided 12,433 loans with a total value of approximately £152.4 million.
  • The economic benefits of the Start Up Loans programme are almost six (5.7) times its economic costs.
  • At Spending Review 2021, the Chancellor announced resources to provide 33,000 Start Up Loans over next three years.

Aside from the return-on-investment numbers these statistics are gross estimates and based on Start Up Loans CRM along with externally commissioned research undertaken by SQW Ltd, with support from BMG Research. Since 2012, 5% of loans went to people formerly unemployed or economically inactive. Some 40% of loan recipients were women and 21% were from Black, Asian and Other Ethnic Minority backgrounds (not including White Minorities).

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