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North West start-ups secure £16.6m boost, as Greater Manchester named ‘most entrepreneurial place outside of London’ for Start Up Loans recipients

Press release 10 May 2024

Start Up Loans programme has delivered £16.6m of funding through 1,269 loans in the North West in the 2023/24 financial year.

The distribution of Start Up Loans to Greater Manchester secures it the title of most entrepreneurial place outside of London for Start Up Loans recipients, as it received £6,928,671 across 518 businesses.

Businesses in the North West received £16.6m of Start Up Loan funding from the British Business Bank last year. The local authority areas within the North West whose businesses received the highest value of loans included Manchester, Cheshire East, Liverpool and Wirral.

New data from the Bank reveals that in the 2023/24 financial year, it provided 1,269 businesses in the North West with funding.

Within the North West region, Greater Manchester has been dubbed the most entrepreneurial place outside of London, after the Bank announced it provided almost £7m worth of Start Up Loan funding to businesses across Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford and Wigan.

Funding to entrepreneurs in the Manchester local authority area was distributed to 143 businesses, with an average loan of £13,565. Cheshire East followed closely behind, with more than £1.3m being provided to 91 businesses – an average loan of £14,658 per business.

North West businesses across a range of sectors received a Start Up Loan this year, including sustainable subscription services platform, Wuva, ecological consultants Evelyn Ecology, and award-winning dessert business Layers Treats.

Here is a full breakdown of Start Up Loans to the top 10 local authority areas in the North West last financial year:

Loans to business founders in the North West

Local authority

Loans Made

Value (£)

Average (£)

Manchester

143

£1,939,745

£13,565

Cheshire East

91

£1,333,880

£14,658

Liverpool

84

£1,029,400

£12,255

Wirral

61

£726,450

£11,909

Trafford

51

£705,414

£13,832

Salford

54

£687,900

£12,739

Wigan

49

£664,380

£13,559

Cheshire West and Chester

44

£602,400

£13,691

Bolton

46

£598,889

£13,019

Sefton

47

£582,850

£12,401

I am incredibly proud of the impact the Start Up Loans programme is having on businesses in the North West. We’ve seen some brilliant examples of businesses who have received funding, all of which showcase the importance of regional financial support in unlocking the potential of North West-based entrepreneurs.

The 2023-24 financial year was Start Up Loans’ best ever in terms of the amount of financing provided to business owners based in the North West, and we want to continue to support businesses in the region. More than that we want to help founders overcome barriers that may emerge when accessing finance and to help underrepresented groups who may otherwise struggle to start a business.

Delyth Edwards Senior Network Manager for the North West at the British Business Bank

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. The programme offers loans of up to £25,000 at a fixed interest rate of 6% per annum, to be repaid over one to five years. The Start Up Loans programme also offers 12 months of free business mentoring and support to successful applicants.

For more information, please visit: www.startuploans.co.uk

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

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 help viable start-ups and early-stage businesses have better access to the finance and support they need in order to thrive. A network of Business Support 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 borrowers’ 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 and Trade (DBT). A development bank wholly government-owned by DBT, 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, in the hope of helping the sector to prosper, to grow and to build economic activity.

Key Statistics

  • Since its inception in 2012, the Start Up Loans programme has delivered over 105,000 loans, providing more than £1bn of funding.
  • In the financial year 2022/23, the Start Up Loans programme provided 9,549 loans with a total value of approximately £120m.
  • 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, 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).

The Start-Up Loans Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of British Business Bank plc. It is a company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales, registration number 08117656, registered office at Steel City House, West Street, Sheffield, S1 2GQ. British Business Bank plc is a development bank wholly owned by HM Government. British Business Bank plc and its subsidiaries 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 website.

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