Start Up Loans – small business owner Ambassadors for 2025
The owners of a craft beer shop born in a Norwich phone box, a London bubble-tea brand now stocked in Selfridges, and a former soldier who launched a virtual golf simulator business are just some of the inspiring entrepreneurs named as Start Up Loans’ 2025 Ambassadors.
The owners of these three businesses join 11 other entrepreneurs from across the UK, including a south coast company that makes sustainable footwear from ocean waste, a Welsh fermentation business producing sauerkraut and kimchi, and a Yorkshire-based multi-site outdoor nursery group.
The annual Start Up Loans Ambassadors programme, now in its 10th year, celebrates inspiring UK business owners who have launched their company using funding from the British Business Bank’s Start Up Loans programme. The Ambassadors have been selected for demonstrating the determination, motivation, forward-thinking and resilience needed to make entrepreneurship a success, providing inspiration for aspiring business owners across the UK.
2025 marks the second year that specialist Ambassadors have been selected from the armed forces veteran community and the Gen Z age group – two important groups supported by the Start Up Loans programme who may face challenges in accessing finance elsewhere.
The 2025 Start Up Loans Ambassadors will be introduced at a dedicated event in central London that marks the start of a year-long programme which will see them take part in a series of local and national engagements, helping inspire and encourage aspiring start-up founders to take the leap into business ownership.
Louise McCoy, managing director, Start Up Loans Products, British Business Bank, said: “This year’s Start Up Loans Ambassadors represent the strength and diversity of the UK’s small business landscape. There are so many different things that have been pursued with Start Up Loans financing, from fermentation to childcare to sustainable footwear, and it’s wonderful to see so many sectors represented.
“The diversity reflected in our founders is something which is very important to Start Up Loans. Four in 10 loans go to female entrepreneurs, much higher than the market average, and 20% go to people from a minority ethnic background. All 14 of our Ambassadors have immensely impressive stories and truly represent the breadth and diversity of the UK’s smaller business community. Entrepreneurs are vital for our economy, and their success fuels our nation’s growth and prosperity.”
Previous Start Up Loans Ambassadors have gone on to secure considerable growth, such as Dash Water, NICE Drinks and UK Connect. One of the most successful scale-up businesses, in terms of valuation, that has been supported by a Start Up Loan so far is sportswear brand Castore, which has a valuation of approximately £1bn.
Since its inception in 2012, the Start Up Loan programme has delivered more than 125,000 loans to business owners across the UK, amounting to more than £1.2bn funding.
Regional breakdown of loans since 2012
Loans Made | Amount Lent (m) | |
East Midlands | 7,400 | £74.7 |
East of England | 9,656 | £102.4 |
London | 25,048 | £248.6 |
North East | 6,507 | £63.0 |
North West | 16,039 | £158.3 |
Northern Ireland | 2,385 | £21.4 |
Scotland | 8,345 | £82.7 |
South East | 13,914 | £151.7 |
South West | 11,175 | £113.1 |
Wales | 5,305 | £54.9 |
West Midlands | 10,558 | £106.0 |
Yorkshire and The Humber | 11,391 | £115.1 |
Region not obtained | 76 | £0.76 |
Grand Total | 127,799 | Approx £1.29bn |
Source: Start Up Loans, 30 September 2025
Through a network of business support partner organisations, the Start Up Loans programme provides:
- Access to pre-and-post loan support to help applicants to develop a business plan
- Fixed-interest first and second loans of up to £25,000 to help recipients to start or grow their business
- Mentoring support to help loan recipients with everything from cash flow to marketing.