£100m of finance provided to 18-24-year-old entrepreneurs by Start Up Loans programme
Start Up Loans, part of the British Business Bank, today announces that it has provided more than £100m worth of funding to business owners aged 18-24, equating to more than 15,000 loans since the programme launched in 2012.
Outside of London, the North West has received the highest volume of loans (1,992), followed by West Midlands (1,591) and the South East (1,291). London has received 3,099 loans in total since 2012.
Among those to receive one of these loans, the most popular industries to launch a business in include retail (£8.5m), hospitality (£5.8m) and arts and entertainment (£2.5m).
See below for a full breakdown of loans by UK nations and regions for young people since 2012, including volume and value of loans.
| Loans to 18-24-year-olds | ||
| UK Region | Loans Made | Value (£) |
| East Midlands | 1,035 | 6,982,336 |
| East of England | 1,030 | 7,535,476 |
| London | 3,099 | 23,312,528 |
| North East | 854 | 5,640,096 |
| North West | 1,993 | 14,414,500 |
| Northern Ireland | 227 | 1,679,440 |
| Scotland | 928 | 6,377,992 |
| South East | 1,291 | 10,383,898 |
| South West | 1,008 | 7,525,650 |
| Wales | 606 | 5,088,247 |
| West Midlands | 1,591 | 10,919,705 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 1,262 | 9,159,330 |
| Region not obtained | 103 | 1,020,800 |
| Grand Total | 15,027 | 110,039,996 |
The funding milestone comes as the Start Up Loans programme launches a new information campaign aimed at students considering entrepreneurship as a career option so they can make their business dreams a reality. The advertising campaign is running across 54 UK cities, and students simply need to scan the QR code on posters and screens around their college and university campuses and surrounding area to access the information.
Creating social value
Start Up Loans exists to provide loans to groups in society who would otherwise struggle to access finance from traditional lenders. Alongside students, people not in education, employment or training (NEET) also fall into this category.
New data shows that the programme’s impact has been particularly noticeable among young entrepreneurs, with 16.5% of all loan recipients aged 18-24 being unemployed before they got their loan.
Of all the loans distributed to entrepreneurs under 25, 39% have gone to female business owners and 24% to business owners from ethnic minority backgrounds.
Gen Z business owner supported by Start Up Loans
Gen Z business owner, Cory Hibbin, aged 20, is just one of these recipients. He took out a £14,500 loan in March 2023 to launch Techie Services. The company, based in Hastings, offers security solutions for residential clients, estates and corporate buildings, including CCTV, alarm systems and network management.
Cory doesn’t live with family or have any financial support from them so his aspiration of setting up Techie Services would not have been possible without the help of the bank’s funding.
He left school at 16 and started an apprenticeship as an IT engineer at a consultancy firm. After developing his skills, he started offering surveillance services on the side of this day job. The client was so impressed that they asked him to work for them full-time.
Small business minister Kevin Hollinrake said: “Every large firm started off as a small business and today’s aspiring young entrepreneurs could be the next success story. I urge them to explore how a Start Up Loan could launch their ambitions today.
“Through the British Business Bank, and the Help to Grow campaign, we’ve backed the next generation of business leaders with over £100m in government backed finance and we’re not stopping there.”
Cory, founder of Techie Services, said: “I’m not the sort of person who can take on learning from behind a desk so I left school at 16 to do an apprenticeship with a local IT consultancy company. While working there, I was working on the side in the evenings and at the weekends. Having been there for four years, I felt like I had gained enough experience to start my own company, which is when Techie Services began. I started with one large client, who quickly recommended me to other businesses and individuals, so I took on five new clients in our first six weeks.
“It hasn’t been easy but it’s the best decision I’ve ever made. The money from Start Up Loans was invaluable in the success of the business – I used it to buy tools for installations as well as supplies for the office. While it might seem a big leap of faith to some people, you can’t let the fear of failure stop you from trying in the first place. I urge anyone 18 or above to look into the finance options available to them if they need a hand getting off the ground.”
Richard Bearman, managing director, small business lending, British Business Bank said: “It’s amazing to see people in their late teens and early twenties with such ‘can-do’ attitudes and motivation to achieve success in working life.
“Our £100m funding milestone is a significant landmark and testament to the hard work of Start Up Loans, in giving people with a good business idea like Cory’s, no matter their age, the chance to access the funding needed to bring it to life. We’re determined to keep backing aspirational young people with money and mentoring.”
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 making 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.
