South West businesses benefit from £11m of loans in the past year
Start Up Loans, part of the British Business Bank, has delivered more than £11 million of loans to businesses in the South West in the past financial year (2023-2024).
The scheme has a 12-year legacy of delivering funding to businesses who may otherwise find it difficult to secure loans from traditional lenders. The programme also offers mentoring to recipients in their first year. Since its inception in 2012, the programme has supported over 9,000 businesses through £90 million in loans in the South West.
In the past financial year alone (2023-2024), more than £11 million has been lent to 874 businesses via the Bank’s appointed Business Support Partners, which is primarily SWIG Finance in the South West. Spread across the region, the diverse range of businesses includes an animal therapist, mobile cocktail bar, baker, green builder, photographer, sewing café and ceramics studio.
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.
One of the businesses to benefit is Wolf London, a new men’s equestrian clothing brand based in the Cotswolds.
Andre Gardiner fell in love with horses at three years old and now aged 30, he has continued to enjoy eventing, show jumping competitively and looking after his two horses - Elvis and Berry. But throughout his time working and competing in the industry, Andre noticed that the products offered to men were increasingly difficult to obtain and find, especially at an affordable price.
Andrew said: "What I saw was a restricted market for men, which had quite traditional types of clothing and hadn’t received the same level of investment as the female sector. Wolf London was subsequently born in 2022 as the culmination of a 15-year dream to tackle the gap in the men’s equestrian clothing market. I wanted to enhance the diversity of products on offer by combining designer fashion with equestrian wear, so they were suitable for the twenty-first century."
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 borrowers’ increasing demands for finance.
