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West Midlands milestone

Press release 28 December 2022

Over £75 million in Start Up Loans has been delivered to businesses in the West Midlands.

  • Since launching in 2012, Start Up Loans has delivered over 8,000 loans worth more than £75 million across the West Midlands with the average loan being £9,897
  • Counties in the West Midlands receiving the most funding since 2012 include West Midlands County and Staffordshire
  • 39% of the total value of loans in the West Midlands delivered since the pandemic began

Start Up Loans, part of the British Business Bank, has delivered 8,231 loans worth more than £76 million to businesses in the West Midlands. The figures point to the spirit of entrepreneurship across the West Midlands.

Of these loans, 2,304 amounting to more than £29.6 million were drawn down in the region since the pandemic began; this equates to 39% 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 (£)

West Midlands

8,231

76,125,191

9,897

UK Total

99,744

934,536,157

9,369

Top counties across the region include West Midlands County, which received more than £38 million in funding, and Staffordshire which received over £13 million in funding.

Of the total 8,231 loans in the West Midlands, 39% have been to women and 25% to people from Black, Asian and Other Ethnic Minority backgrounds (not including White Minorities). Young people between 18-24 years old have received 18% of the loans in the region since 2012, and 11% of the total loans made to people in the same age bracket nationally since the scheme 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 8,231 loans worth more than £76.1 million our most dynamic small businesses across the West 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 West Midlands that we’re celebrating such a significant milestone, more than £75m, invested across the West Midlands 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 West, which represents 11% of the total across the entire of the UK. - Sophie Dale-Black Director, UK Network – Midlands and North of England
I would encourage anyone who’s thinking of setting up their own business and becoming their own boss to explore the possibilities the Start Up Loans scheme has to offer. The support you receive makes a real difference - Nirmla Warwood Owner of Thatch and Stone, Walsall, West Midlands
UK RegionCounty

Loans Made

Amount Lent (£)

Average Loan Amount (£)

West MidlandsWest Midlands County

4,442

38,191,835

8,598

West MidlandsStaffordshire

1,381

13,123,469

9,503

West MidlandsWarwickshire

919

8,086,540

8,799

West MidlandsWorcestershire

717

7,416,017

10,343

West MidlandsShropshire

716

6,916,596

9,660

West MidlandsHereforshire (Former County)

224

2,338,095

10,438

Total 

8,321

76,125,191

9,897

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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