Start Up Loans hits £1bn milestone of loans to UK small businesses

• Since 2012, Start Up Loans has delivered more than £1 billion of loans to more than 105,000 businesses across the UK

• Almost 70% of loans have gone to businesses outside London and the South East

• £371 million of loans (nearly 40%) have gone to female founders

• £201 million (20%) of loans have gone to people from Black, Asian and other Ethnic Minority backgrounds

Start Up Loans, part of the British Business Bank, has delivered more than £1 billion of loans since its inception in 2012. The loans have been issued to 105,109 businesses, at an average of £9,547 per business.

Supporting under-represented groups

The Start Up Loans programme provides a means of reaching under-represented groups who are excluded from mainstream finance by helping them start businesses.

Of the £1 billion loans, nearly 40% have been lent to female business owners, with a total value of £371 million, and 20% have been lent to people from Black, Asian and Other Ethnic Minority backgrounds (not including White Minorities), with a value of £201 million.

Just 4% of the UK’s small businesses in 2021 were majority-led by people from an ethnic minority group and only 20% of new businesses had female founders according to The Rose Review.

Backing 18-24's to start a business

Young people between 18-24 years old have received £106 million (11%) in loans since the programme began.

70% of lending outside London & the South East

Of the £1 billion provided to start ups, nearly 70% has gone to small businesses outside London and the South East. The top three regions receiving Start Up Loans outside of London and the South East are the North West (£121.6m), Yorkshire and the Humber (almost £90m) and the South West (almost £85m).

£1bn milestone case study: Robin Valley Jewellery, Liverpool

The business owners who received the £1 billion milestone loan drawn down were Wanchong Chen and Lian Zhang, owners of Robin Valley Limited, a jewellery business based in Liverpool. Robin Valley’s wooden jewellery combines innovation, sustainability and unique design. The business serves as a wholesale supplier to prominent organisations and gift shops including the London and Marwell Zoos, Edinburgh Royal Botanic Garden and the Fitzwilliam Museum. They took out a £15,000 loan to purchase machinery and pay staff wages, which allowed them to expand production.

Wanchong Chen’s advice for budding entrepreneurs looking to start a business or take their existing business to the next level is: “Have the confidence to give it a go. If you don’t try, you won’t know, and if you don’t do it someone else just might. If you’re prepared to learn on the job and learn from your mistakes, then you are well-placed to become a success.

“Start Up Loans provide life-changing funds to small business owners, who otherwise may not be able to secure funding. I used my loan to buy a new laser that is integral to creating our wooden jewellery and pay staff wages. I have huge respect for anyone who tries to start their own business and best of luck to all those who pursue their passion project”