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Exeter businesses benefit from £2 million in funding from the Start Up Loans programme

Press release 03 September 2024

Businesses in Exeter have benefitted from over £2 million in funding through the Start Up Loans programme, since it began.

The programme, which is part of the British Business Bank, has a 12-year legacy of delivering funding to smaller businesses who may otherwise find it difficult to secure loans from other sources. It also offers mentoring to recipients in their first year.

Over 190 businesses in Exeter have benefitted from this funding support, which offers personal loans of up to £25,000 on a fixed 6% rate of interest. They range from coffee shops and cafés, to plasterers, caterers, dog groomers and retailers. The business owners have used the funding for a wide range of activities, from buying in stock to renovating premises and purchasing equipment, as they start or grow their business.

The Start Up Loans programme has supported thousands of smaller businesses across the South West since its launch in 2012 and we're delighted to have passed the £2 million lending milestone in Exeter. It's vital that start-up and early stage businesses have the support they need to thrive and that's what the Start Up Loans programme continues to deliver. - Louise McCoy Commercial Managing Director, Small Business Lending, British Business Bank

One of the latest businesses to benefit is Cameron Mills Group, a leading-edge centre for music in the heart of Exeter. The business is opening new High Street premises to offer more opportunities to budding creatives in September, thanks to the Start Up Loans programme.

The business founder Cameron Mills, a Gen Z entrepreneur aged just 25, has secured a loan of £10,000 through Business Support Partner SWIG Finance, enabling them to kit out the new studio space.

The funding meant we could deliver the high quality we wanted straight away. But the funding did more than that, the process really helped me think about the business, cash flow and long-term plans in a way I hadn’t before. - Cameron Mills

The Start Up Loans programme helps people start or grow their business and is part of the government-owned British Business Bank’s remit to make finance markets work better for smaller businesses. They can borrow up to £25,000 at a fixed interest rate of 6% per annum and repay the loan over one to five years. The programme also provides 12 months of free business mentoring which is delivered through a network of Business Support Partner organisations. In the South West the support partner is SWIG Finance.

To learn more about Start Up Loans support, visit: https://www.startuploans.co.uk/support-and-guidance 

Case study: The Cameron Mills Group

A leading-edge centre for music in the heart of Exeter is opening new High Street premises to offer more opportunities to budding creatives, thanks to the Start Up Loans programme.

The Cameron Mills Group provides inspiring, inclusive music lessons where children and adults can learn. They are also home to rehearsal spaces and recording studios, private tuition and short courses. Their mission is to make music accessible for everyone, kids and adults, beginners and professionals.

Cameron Mills, 25, who started with the business as a franchise four years ago, took the leap in August 2023 to form Cameron Mills Group. With over 30 freelance teaching staff, the team are dedicated to building people's confidence and giving them opportunities to be creative.

At school I always loved music and started gigging when I was 16, so after leaving school it was natural for me to pursue gigging at the weekend alongside teaching music in schools across Devon. - Cameron Mills

In just seven years, he went on to become a Classic Brit award nominated singer, talent agent and podcast host.

I would have really struggled as a kid if I didn’t have access to the creative outlet music provides. That’s why I wanted to create this space for people to be creative, learn and have a great time whilst doing it. It also gives me the creative freedom I love and the benefits of running my own business.

A family of students, musicians and creatives, the business was recently awarded Best New Business at the Exeter Living Awards earlier this year.

The business is now launching its second venue on Exeter High Street in September which will serve as their main commercial recording studio, with a music school on the first floor. The existing premises on Coombe Street in Exeter will continue to serve as a space for rehearsals as it includes a stage, giving people the opportunity to rehearse in a live performance setting.

Cameron secured a £10,000 Start Up Loan through Business Support Partner, SWIG Finance, to support the business with this expansion. The funding meant that they could fit out their new studio space with everything they needed from microphones to computers and chairs. 

The funding meant we could deliver the high quality we wanted straight away. But the funding did more than that, the process really helped me think about the business, cash flow and long-term plans in a way I hadn’t before. - Cameron Mills

So what’s next for this thriving business?

The focus is very much on our high street launch at the moment but I would love to expand and roll the model out elsewhere in the South West, to make sure those with a passion for creating have a space to allow them the opportunity, said Cameron.

Find out more about what they offer at www.cameronmillsgroup.com

Further Information

If you are a journalist and have a media enquiry, please contact mediaenquiries@british-business-bank.co.uk.

Notes to editors

About Start Up Loans’ Business Support Partner SWIG Finance

As an official Business Support Partner for the British Business Bank’s Start Up Loans programme, SWIG Finance operates within a network of Business Support Partners, delivering Start Up Loans in the range of £500 to £25,000 across the South West.

About Start Up Loans

The Start Up Loans programme is operated by The Start Up Loans Company.

The Start-Up Loans Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of British Business Bank plc.

British Business Bank plc is a development bank wholly government-owned by DBT and 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 funding for the Start Up Loans programme is provided by the Department for Business and Trade (DBT).

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.

Key Statistics

  • Since its inception in 2012, the Start Up Loans scheme has delivered over 115,000 loans, providing more than £1.13bn of funding.
  • In the financial year 2023/24, the scheme provided 9,759 loans with a total value of approximately £125m.
  • The economic benefits of the Start Up Loans programme are almost six (5.7) times its economic costs.

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, 31% of loans went to people formerly unemployed or economically inactive. 40% of loan recipients were women and 20% were from ethnic minority groups (not including white minorities). 

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