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Surrey business owners benefit from £20m of Start Up Loans funding

Press release 01 July 2026

Elmbridge is the most entrepreneurial part of Surrey according to Start Up Loans data.

Entrepreneurs in Surrey have received more than £20m in funding from the British Business Bank’s Start Up Loans programme since its launch in 2012. Latest figures show that Surrey-based business owners benefitted from more than 1,500 Start Up Loans.  

Almost four in ten loans (39%) have been delivered to female business leaders, while 18% went to ethnic minority business owners – well above the representation of those groups among business owners 1 .

The highest number of loans went to Elmbridge (241), followed by Guildford (219) and Reigate & Banstead (203). 

Adjusted for population size, Elmbridge came out as the most entrepreneurial local authority area in Surrey, with 170 loans per 100,000 residents. Tandridge was the second most entrepreneurial place (157 per 100,000), with Woking and Waverley tied on third (150 per 100,000). 

Blair McDougall, Minister for Small Business and Economic Transformation, said:

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    For example, according to the Longitudinal Small Business Survey 2024 14% of SME employers were women-led. A House of Commons Library research briefing stated that in 2024, 6% of SMEs with employees were led either by one person from a minority ethnic group or by a management team of mostly people from minority ethnic groups.

Surrey is home to a thriving community of entrepreneurs and through Start Up Loans, we are ensuring they have access to the finance they need to reach their full potential.

This is an impressive milestone for the programme, which has supported entrepreneurs across the region, boosting local businesses, job opportunities and the economy.

Surrey business success

Silhouette Stills is an award-winning Epsom-based company with a craft distillery in Capel, Surrey, that is dedicated to crafting gin and moonshine in small batches. The company is owned by Phil Reed. Despite only starting up in 2025, the distillery has already received awards from The Gin Guide including two Golds and one bronze for its London dry gin, as well as New Distillery of the Year 2026. 

Phil took out an initial Start Up Loan for £12,000 in April 2025 to help with setting up the business and then came back for a £5,000 second loan to support its further development.

Phil Reed said:

The financing from the Start Up Loans programme has been completely essential to helping get Silhouette Stills started. It’s because of the financing we’re in a position to produce our small batch moonshine, and to do so at the top quality we want for customers. We’re delighted to have won awards already as a young business and look forward to the future with confidence.

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

We are delighted that Start Up Loans has been able to support Surrey business owners with £20m of financing, and are proud to support business owners with mentoring and other support as well. Having recently extended our eligibility we will in future be able to help even more people in Surrey set up or grow a business.

The British Business Bank is expanding its geographically-focused initiatives to support entrepreneurs in accessing capital. This includes £350m allocated to two new Nations and Regions Investment Funds - in the South East and East of England - expanding targeted finance to every UK Nation and region outside London. These funds are due to go live in the second half of 2026.

Eligibility for a first Start Up Loan has been extended to businesses that have been trading for up to 60 months.  

Further Information

If you are a journalist and have a media enquiry, please contact [email protected].

Notes to editors

Start Up Loans Surrey lending data

Local authorityPopulation 2 Volume of LoansLoans per 100,000 people
Elmbridge141,926241170
Tandridge90,586142157
Woking105,679159150
Waverley134,284202150
Guildford151,359219145
Reigate and Banstead159,134203128
Epsom and Ewell83,288116126
Runnymede92,118116126
Surrey Heath94,492116123
Mole Valley88,709102115
Spethorne107,074110103

About Start Up Loans

The Start Up Loans programme provides personal loans for business purposes of up to £25,000 at a fixed interest rate per annum and offers free dedicated mentoring and support to each business. Eligibility for a first Start Up Loan has been extended to businesses that have been trading for up to 60 months.

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. You can find recent media press releases here.

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.co.uk.  

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