Start Up Loans marks a decade of support for businesses in the North West

Since launching in 2012, Start Up Loans has delivered over 12,000 loans worth more than £112 million to new businesses in the North West in a decade of support.

In total, start-ups in the North West have received £112,100.733 of support across 12,314 loans.

The North West was the top performing of the regions comprising Western England, with nearly half as many more loans drawn down compared to both the South West and West Midlands regions. Of counties and local authorities in the region, Greater Manchester accounted for over £46 million of funding delivered by the Start Up Loans scheme.

The North West has also seen a significant boost to entrepreneurship since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic: 3,460 (amounting to more than £41 million) were drawn down in the region since the pandemic began. This figure equates to 37% of the total value of loans delivered over the lifetime of the programme.

Impressive figures for entrepreneurship during the pandemic show how people have been helped by Start Up Loans to launch their own businesses when conditions in the job market were difficult, with the North West seeing some of the steepest falls in employment in the UK at the start of the pandemic in 2020.

Sophie Dale-Black, Director, UK Network – Midlands and North of England said:

“It’s a testament to the entrepreneurial spirit of the North West that we’re celebrating such a significant milestone, well over a quarter of a billion pounds, invested across the Western regions since 2012.  

“I am particularly proud of the fact that we have been able to support such a huge volume of young aspiring business people and their start-up ventures in the West, which represents 30% of the total across the entire of the UK.” 

Selina Ellis-Gray, founder of Hellion Toys in Clitheroe and Start Up Loans champion for the North West, said:

“The business community in the North West is vibrant. Supporting other business has been one of the pleasures of being in business myself, especially seeing the positive impact working together can have on small family run companies and independents.”