British Enterprise Fund delivers £50m worth of “crucial” start-up funding for small Northern firms – plus a boost for female founders

Business Enterprise Fund has provided Northern businesses with over 4,500 loans, worth more than £50m, through British Business Bank’s Start Up Loans programme.

Through the programme, female-founded businesses received 37% of loans, business owners from an ethnic minority background made up 14% of the loans, and young entrepreneurs aged 18-24 received 8% of loans.  

Start Up Loans provides personal loans for business purposes, which means each director can secure up to £25,000 worth of funding, up to a maximum of £100,000 per business. 

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Some of the businesses that have benefited from a cash injection includes Wigan-based premier wig production company, Xtra9ce Wigs, which secured a £25,000 Start Up Loan to move to a larger premises and support further growth plans. Leeds-based Yorkshire Mushroom Emporium received a total of £50,000 worth of funding to scale up and grow. 

“I’m so proud of Business Enterprise Fund’s achievement, providing £50m to smaller businesses through the Start Up Loans programme. This crucial funding has a huge impact on people and businesses across the whole country, and we’re really lucky to get to meet and work with these people day-to-day, supporting their ambitions and helping them achieve their dreams. We look forward to continuing this work, providing accessible funding to the smaller business community,” says Stephen Waud, CEO at Business Enterprise Fund.

As an official Business Support Partner for the Start Up Loan programme, Business Enterprise Fund operates within a network of Business Support Partners, delivering Start Up Loans in the range of £500 to £25,000 across the UK. The aim is to help ensure that viable start-ups and early-stage businesses have access to the finance and support they need, with a network of Business Support Partner organisations supporting applicants across all regions in the UK.

The funding for the Start Up Loans programme is provided by the Department for Business and Trade.