Midlands start-up loans top £150m

£150 million worth of loans have now been delivered in the Midlands region.

Almost 9,500 loans have been made to entrepreneurs within the West Midlands.

It was revealed in September 2023 that Start Up Loans had delivered over £1 billion worth of loans nationwide since 2012 and the Midlands was a large contributor towards that.

Start Up Loans provides mentoring, support and funding to aspiring business owners in every corner of the United Kingdom and its impact has been particularly noticeable among individuals who might find it difficult to secure finance from other sources.

The West Midlands received a total of 9,474 loans, worth more than £91m. Businesses in the West Midlands County received the highest number of loans in the region. Businesses based in the county received 5,020 loans amounting to over £45m, averaging £9,090 per business.

Of the more than £91 million of Start Up Loans delivered in the West Midlands, more than 3,700 loans were to female founded businesses worth over £33m and more than 1,100 loans were founded by ethnic minority groups, equating to over £14m.

Shropshire has received 832 loans amounting to more than £8.3m – an average of £9,997

For Staffordshire there were 1,611 loans averaging £9,826 and totalling more than £15.9m.

Worcestershire has had 870 loans at an average of £10,642 and totting up to more than £9.2m.

Richard Bearman, managing director of small business lending at the British Business Bank, said: “What we have been able to deliver businesses in the Midlands is a testament to the great work and partnerships that take place across the region and wider – from the smaller business owners with the great business ideas to the business support partners who are able to offer wonderful support to the right individuals and ideas.”