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Start Up Loans celebrates ‘summer of business’ with record demand for finance

Press release 11 September 2025

  • Start Up Loans reveals a year-on-year increase in the volume and value of loans taken out between the start of June and end of August, a four year high
  • Over £35m has been delivered during the 2025 summer months, marking a 10% increase in the volume of loans and 10.1% rise in the value, despite a challenging economic backdrop
  • 20% of these loans have been taken out by Gen Z, showcasing an entrepreneurial drive among young people
  • The programme continues to drive regional growth, with 84% of loans going to founders outside London

Start Up Loans reports that this summer has seen the highest number of loans taken out by founders over the past four summers. This growth comes despite reports indicating low levels of business confidence, highlighting that UK small business founders accessing the programme remain undeterred and keen to start up new ventures. 

The programme, which is part of the British Business Bank, delivered more than £35m in loans to founders between June and August 2025. This marks a 10% increase in the value of loans in comparison to last summer. The summer months of 2024 were themselves 6.2% higher than the summer of 2023. 

This Start Up Loans increase mirrors recent figures from UK Finance, which report that the major banks increased lending by 30% for businesses with a turnover of under £2 million in the first quarter of 2025, compared with the same period in 2024.

Over the summer break, an impressive 20% of Start Up Loans have been secured by Gen Z founders – those aged under 28 years old, reflecting a growing interest amongst the younger generation in starting their own business. A core premise of the programme is to provide loans to founders from all corners of the UK, thereby driving regional growth. This summer, 84% of loans were taken out by founders located outside London. 

The programme is also dedicated to providing finance to founders who might otherwise encounter barriers in accessing funds. 40% of loan recipients over the summer months were female, 21% were from non-white minorities, and 6% were unemployed at the time of applying for their loan.

Louise McCoy, Managing Director of Start Up Loans Products, commented: 

While we know business owners face a lot of challenges it is great to see in our data that demand for start up finance has continued to grow year-on-year through the summer months.

This ’summer of business’ shows that people still aspire to start businesses in a wide range of sectors, that there’s entrepreneurial talent and demand across the country and that we are helping people get the access to the finance they need to start a business. It’s also great to see a high proportion of women and people from ethnic minority backgrounds benefitting from the finance and wider support offered by the Start Up Loans programme.

Since its inception in 2012, the programme has delivered 125,000 loans totalling over £1.2bn in funding. Earlier in the summer the Government announced an expansion of the Start Up Loans programme, which will offer over £1 billion in additional lending to entrepreneurs as part of its Backing Your Business plan. This scaling up of the programme aims to provide 69,000 loans over the upcoming Spending Review period, with the average loan size expected to increase from £12,000 to £15,000.

This expansion could significantly boost the economy, contributing an estimated £1.3 billion in additional economic output. It is also anticipated to generate an extra £3.1 billion in turnover and create around 12,600 new jobs throughout the duration of this financial initiative.

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.

For more information, please visit: Start Up Loans.

Further Information

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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 Business Support 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 increasing demands for finance.

Free guides on a range of subjects related to starting a business are available on the Start Up Loans website: Start Up Loans Free Guides. You can find recent media press releases here: Start Up Loans Media Centre.

The funding for the Start Up Loans programme is provided by the Department for Business and Trade (DBT). The Start Up Loans programme is operated by The Start-Up Loans Company, a company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales, registration number 08117656, registered office at Steel City House, West Street, Sheffield, S1 2GQ.  The Start-Up Loans Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of British Business Bank plc which is a development bank wholly owned by HM Government. British Business Bank plc and its subsidiaries are not banking institutions and do not operate as such. With the exception of BBB Investment Services Limited they are not authorised or regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority or the Financial Conduct Authority. BBB Investment Services Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. A complete legal structure chart for the group can be found at British Business Bank.

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