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Start Up Loans passes £100m funding milestone in the West Midlands

Press release 10 June 2025

  • Over 10,000 loans have been distributed in the West Midlands, with an average loan amount of just over £9,900
  • Coventry, Shropshire and Wolverhampton local authorities received the most finance outside of Birmingham
  • Young entrepreneurs, the unemployed and NEETs in particular are groups benefitting from the finance provided

The British Business Bank’s Start Up Loans programme has announced it has passed a major milestone of £100m of loans provided in the West Midlands region.

Entrepreneurs in the region received a total of 10,166 loans since the programme was launched in 2012, with the average loan amount of nearly £10,000. 

Coventry, Shropshire and Wolverhampton local authorities received the most finance outside of Birmingham with £7.3m, £6m and £4.6m respectively. Birmingham accounted for more than £1 in every £5 lent under the programme in the West Midlands. Every local authority in the West Midlands received over £1m with the exception of North Warwickshire.

Most notably, one in four of the loans provided in the West Midlands were provided to founders of ethnic minorities and over 39% of loans were distributed to female business owners, further underscoring the Bank’s commitment to supporting underrepresented entrepreneurs in the UK.

The West Midlands is a hotbed for young entrepreneurs, with 17% of borrowers aged 18-24, and within this group 38% were not in education, employment or training (NEET). The average across the UK is 13%. 

Gareth Thomas, Minister for Services, Small Business and Exports said: 

This is an impressive milestone for the Start Up Loans programme, which has boosted thousands of entrepreneurs and local businesses, and will help drive economic growth in communities across the West Midlands.

This government is determined to give small businesses, and in particular those from underrepresented groups, access to the finance they need to start up and scale up, and programmes like this are key to achieving that.

Laura Suominen, 28, the founder of Ikigai, is one of these female founders to have benefited from the programme and was named as a regional ambassador in late 2024.

Her business, located in Leamington Spa, specialises in sourcing Japanese imported homeware items, yukata and otaku products such as official Studio Ghibli Merchandise.

Laura, who runs the business alongside her partner, took out a £12,000 loan in early 2024 via Start Up Loans’ Business Support Partner, BizBritain which helped her to develop a new website and further increase the inventory of items that are imported from Japan.

Laura Suominen, founder of Ikigai, commented: 

The Start Up Loans programme has been a huge help in growing the business and supporting our ambition to bring Japanese culture and homeware to Leamington Spa. It has meant that we’ve gotten the business to a place that we wouldn’t have otherwise been able to do so and I’m keen to encourage others within the region to follow in my footsteps.

Another business owner benefitting from access to finance provided by the Start Up Loans programme is the 23-year-old owner of The Scran Man Grill. Blake took out a £5,000 loan via The Prince’s Trust (now The King’s Trust), a partner of the Start Up Loans programme, in 2021. With the loan, Blake was able to set up a bricks and mortar location, moving from the portable van at his grandad’s house, which had earned him his reputation during lockdown. A year later he got a second loan of £12,000 to grow his business further.

The business, based in Great Barr near Birmingham, is dedicated to bringing customers authentic, fresh and tasty American street food such as Philly cheesesteaks, fried chicken and signature burgers to name a few of the menu items.

Louise McCoy, Managing Director, Start Up Loans Products at the British Business Bank, said: 

The West Midlands is a region with a clear appetite for entrepreneurship and innovation, so we are proud to say that the Start Up Loans programme has now supported founders with £100m in funding since its inception in 2012.

This milestone is a testament to the great work and partnerships that take place across the West Midlands, and we look forward to continuing our work to create a thriving business community in the region throughout 2025 and beyond.

Daniel Carrico, Executive Director at First Enterprise, commented: 

Reaching £100m in Start Up Loans across the West Midlands is a powerful milestone - one that reflects the ambition and resilience of thousands of entrepreneurs. At First Enterprise, we are proud to stand alongside the British Business Bank as a long-standing Business Support Partner, helping to turn aspirations into thriving businesses. We’ve seen first-hand how access to finance, mentoring, and guidance can empower individuals, especially for those who have been historically underrepresented or excluded from traditional funding routes.

This achievement highlights the region’s entrepreneurial spirit and reinforces our commitment to supporting inclusive, sustainable growth across every community we serve.

Since its inception, the Start Up Loans programme has delivered more than 120,000 loans to business owners across the UK, amounting to more than £1.2bn of funding. Of those loans, 40% of loan recipients have been women and 20% from Black, Asian, and Other Minority Ethnic backgrounds (not including White Minorities).

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, BizBritain and First Enterprise operate within a network of Business Support Partners, delivering Start Up Loans in the range of £500 to £25,000 across the UK.

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 Start Up Guides. You can find recent media press releases in the  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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