West Lothian has staked its claim as Scotland’s most entrepreneurial area.
The county has the highest rate of successful Start Up Loans applications per adult in Scotland, laying its claim to being the country’s most entrepreneurial local authority area, according to new analysis by the British Business Bank.
The Bank found that people between the ages of 18 and 65 in West Lothian secured 279 loans from its Start Up Loans programme, totalling £2.16 million of funding. This gave it the highest loan to adult population rate in Scotland, at 2.4 per 1,000 since the scheme began in 2012.
Clackmannanshire came joint second with the Highland local authority area, with a loan rate of 2.3 per 1,000 adults, placing both ahead of Scotland’s cities and larger council areas.
North Ayrshire was fourth on the list, with 2.2 loans per 1,000 adults spread over total funding of £1.1 million. Meanwhile, owners of smaller businesses in Edinburgh received the highest amount of lending at £8.29 million, but the Scottish capital had the fifth highest loans per 1,000 adults at 2.1.
Louise McCoy, commercial director, Start Up Loans, said: “It is great to see regions in Scotland, like West Lothian and Clackmannanshire, with a mix of rural and urban areas featuring at the top of the list for Start Up Loans.”
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