Start Up Loans delivers £10m of loans to Oxfordshire’s small business entrepreneurs
Today, Start Up Loans announces that it has provided £10m in loans to entrepreneurs in Oxfordshire. Since the government-backed programme began, over 800 founders in Oxfordshire have taken out a Start Up Loan to start or grow their early-stage business.
Of this £10m, £1.2m has been provided to start ups in the county between April 2024 and the end of March 2025, showing a sustained demand for finance for starting a business.
The average loan value received by aspiring entrepreneurs in the county is £12,263. Based on analysis of figures for each of the county’s parliamentary constituencies, Banbury was the most entrepreneurial constituency in the county with the highest number of Start Up Loans taken out, closely followed by Witney and Bicester & Woodstock.
In Oxfordshire, 11% of the Start Up Loans finance has gone to those who were formerly unemployed, helping get people back into work through entrepreneurship. 15% of recipients were from a Black, Asian or Other Ethnic Minority background.
One founder who used Start Up Loans to kickstart her business is Kidlington-based Helen Curry. Helen took out a £17,500 loan through Virgin StartUp to set up School Resources Exchange, an online marketplace where schools can buy, swap and sell excess curriculum resources.
Helen Curry, founder of School Resources Exchange: “I noticed in my previous role when I was looking around schools just how many resources were going to waste, due to things like last minute curriculum changes. School budgets can be tight, and so the idea was sparked in my head – what if schools could earn from selling their excess resources, whilst also being able to purchase discounted resources that they need from other schools?
“Not only is it cost effective, schools have to think about their environmental footprint too. The marketplace ensures that more unused resources can go to a second home. The loan was instrumental in helping me to market the platform, as advertising to schools can be tricky.”
Andy Fishburn, managing director at Virgin StartUp, comments: “From day one, Helen was really clear on the purpose of her business and how it would have a positive impact for schools and it’s that purpose-driven approach that has helped her business to grow from an idea into a thriving new venture. It’s been a pleasure to support her start-up journey and we have no doubt School Resources Exchange will continue to play an important role.”
Louise McCoy, managing director, Start Up Loans Products, British Business Bank: “We celebrate businesses that identify niche gaps in the market, just like Helen’s. Her business has done an excellent job of recognising a problem and finding an innovative solution. It’s good for school budgets and for the environment.
“This milestone shows the impact Start Up Loans is having in supporting start up and early stage businesses in Oxfordshire and the wider South East. We know many businesses would not have started if the Start Up Loans finance had not been there for the owner and so it is great to see these 800 plus businesses start.”
Start Up Loans is a subsidiary of the British Business Bank and delivers the government’s Start Up Loans programme, providing first loans to businesses that have been trading for three years or less and second loans to businesses that have been trading for up to five years.
As an official Business Support Partner for the Start Up Loan programme, Virgin StartUp operates within a network of Business Support Partners, delivering Start Up Loans in the range of £500 to £25,000 across the UK.