Expanded Start Up Loans scheme aims to ensure firms do not get left behind

The British Business Bank has expanded its Start Up Loans programme in Yorkshire & The Humber.

Loans are now available to start-ups that have been trading for up to three years. And second loans are now available for businesses that have been trading for up to five years.

More than £80m worth of start-up loans have been delivered to entrepreneurs in Yorkshire & The Humber since 2012.

Start Up Loans’ expansion follows the 2021/22 Spending Review, at which the Government made a commitment to provide 33,000 loans to the programme over the next three years.

Start Up Loans provides funding at a fixed interest rate of 6%, as well as 12 months’ mentoring to its recipients, further supporting aspiring business owners.

Sophie Dale-Black, director, UK Network, Midlands and North of England, said: “This extension of the programme will enable us to work with those businesses that had perhaps just got going when the pandemic hit, or are ready to consolidate and grow their businesses now that they are back on their feet.

“We want to ensure that these businesses do not get left behind.

“We have always been committed to providing support and funding to smaller businesses across Yorkshire & The Humber, with entrepreneurial ambitions across all industry sectors.

“Having delivered more than £80m in loans to Yorkshire & the Humber alone highlights our continued efforts to help people from diverse backgrounds achieve their business goals.”