The British Business Bank’s Start Up Loans programme has been expanded.
It now includes start ups that have been trading for up to three years, while second Start Up Loans are now available to eligible businesses that have been trading for up to five years.
The programme previously provided finance to start-ups which had been trading for up to two years.
Start Up Loans’ expansion follows the 2021/22 Spending Review, at which the UK Government made the commitment to provide 33,000 loans to the programme over the next three years.
The scheme has already delivered more than 6,300 loans worth more than £55m to new business owners in Scotland since 2012.
Start Up Loans provides funding at a fixed interest rate of 6%, as well as 12 months’ mentoring to its recipients.
Julie Di Toro and Sam Barker, co-founders of Leith-based Mistral, took out a £7,500 loan in August 2020 and have since received a second loan of £7,500 to support the launch of the wine shop and bar.
Having both been made redundant during the pandemic, the couple decided to make the most of the opportunity and use their experience in the hospitality industry to launch the business they’d always dreamed of.
“Launching in the midst of various lockdowns posed a number of challenges, so we had to remain nimble and think on our feet,“ they stated. “Given the government regulations at the time, we had to pivot our strategy to incorporate a retail element into our offering, before we could open up the wine bar.”
Susan Nightingale, devolved nations director at the British Business Bank, added: “This extension of the programme will enable us to work with those businesses that had perhaps just got going when the pandemic hit or are ready to consolidate and grow their businesses now that they are back on their feet. We want to ensure that these businesses do not get left behind.”
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