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UK business owners continue to start up and secure early-stage financing

Press release 08 August 2025

New data from the British Business Bank’s Start Up Loans programme, which provides finance and support to start up and early-stage businesses, shows a year-on-year increase in the value of finance being accessed. 

In July 2025 the Start Up Loans programme provided business owners with £12.79m of finance compared to £11.92m in July 2024, a 7.3% increase. 

The volume of loans provided to businesses in July 2025 also increased 1.5% compared to July 2024.

The increase in finance comes against a reported environment of low business confidence. 

The ICAEW’s latest Business Confidence Monitor (BCM) for Q2 2025 put confidence at -4.2, its weakest reading since Q4 2022 and down from -3.0 the previous quarter. 

The latest The IoD Directors’ Economic Confidence Index, which measures business leader optimism, fell to -72 in July 2025 from -53 in June.

However, against this mixed picture, the Start Up Loans programme continues to support more businesses throughout the UK. 

Since its inception around 70% of the finance has gone outside of London and the South East.

A wide variety of businesses are supported by the programme. Some recipients of loans in July 2025 include:

  • Monty and Mooch – a dog harnesses and accessories retailer utilising designs inspired by retro football jerseys
  • Golfinity Leisure, Wrexham – a golf training facility 
  • Tides Sauna & Social, Eastbourne – a beach-side sauna and community hub offering community sauna sessions, cold water therapy and wellness workshops
  • Salt & Sugar Art Chocolate, North Lincolnshire – an artisan chocolate bonbons manufacturer set up by a Brazilian woman.

These businesses were supported by the following Start Up Loans Business Support Partners - Monty and Mooch by X-Forces Enterprise, Golfinity Leisure by The Hub, Tides Sauna & Social by Let's Do Business Finance and Salt & Sugar Art Chocolate by Business Enterprise Fund.

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

The data we are seeing at Start Up Loans suggests entrepreneurs are still coming forward to take on finance to start or sometimes to grow their business.

This is definitely a positive sign.

We also saw a 9% rise in loan volumes in 2024 compared to the previous calendar year, indicating a longer-term trend.

The UK remains a great place to set up and grow a business.

So far this financial year, 259 more Start Up Loans have gone out to businesses versus the same timeframe last year.

It’s great to see a diversity of business owners and business types among the Start Up Loans recipients, from a sauna-based community hub to an artisan chocolate bonbon manufacturer.

Start Up Loans is a government-backed initiative that offers fixed-interest personal loans for business purposes, aiming to fuel the growth of new businesses across the UK. 

The programme has been a catalyst for innovation and enterprise, delivering over £1.2 billion in funding to more than 120,000 entrepreneurs nationwide. 

The government’s recent Backing Your Business Plan announced that the Start Up Loans programme has been expanded and will provide more than £1bn of additional lending to entrepreneurs. 

The programme is being scaled up to provide 69,000 loans over the next Spending Review period, with an expected increase in average loan size from £12,000 to £15,000. 

Based on Bank estimates, the expansion of the programme could contribute approximately £1.3bn in additional economic output, generate an additional £3.1bn of turnover and create an additional 12,600 jobs over the life of the finance.

Further Information

If you are a journalist and have a media enquiry, please contact Andy Ross, Comms Manager, Start Up Loans Programme [email protected].

Notes to editors

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: https://www.startuploans.co.uk/free-start-up-guides/. You can find recent media press releases here: https://www.startuploans.co.uk/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 www.british-business-bank.co.uk. 
 

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