Are you a new business which needs help to get the idea off the ground? New national figures from the Annual Impact Report for Start Up Loans 2016 highlight how many people have been helped with start up finance across the country. Here, Joanne Fulthorpe, business development manager at Hyndburn Enterprise Trust explains what this means in Lancashire.
Start Up Loans are a government-backed personal loan available to individuals looking to start or grow a business in the UK and in Lancashire we’re one of the organisations that start up businesses can come to for help. With a fixed interest rate of just 6% a year and the ability to borrow between £500 and £25,000, the loans offer an affordable source of start up finance to help new and early stage business owners bring their plans to life.
And, with the option for a number of people in a business to borrow £25,000 – up to a limit of £100,000 - it could really help make dreams a reality. New figures show that the North West is the second largest lending area behind only London and 45% of all applicants were unemployed before applying.
Nationally, £250,000,000 has been lent so far through the scheme and 28 new businesses are backed per day nationally. Interestingly, for every £1 lent the return on investment for the UK economy is £3 – showing the importance of supporting new enterprises.
Start Up Loans in Lancashire
So what’s the picture here in Lancashire? Well, since 2013 when Hyndburn Enterprise Trust introduced the scheme as part of our services, we have lent more than £3m and helped over 250 new business start ups.
On average, we have backed one new business start up per day in the past six months and we have seen 900 new jobs created as part of the scheme. Start Up Loans are structured on a monthly repayment schedule, based on a loan repayment term of between one and five years. In addition to start up finance, all loan recipients are offered up to 12 months of mentoring support and access to a range of special business offers.
The advice and support our team can offer is equally as important as the funding - we offer all clients the opportunity for a 121 should they wish to come in. We also work with other start up support programmes like Boost’s Growth Support Programme to ensure that new businesses in Lancashire get the full range of support they need.
Do you know somebody who might need finance or is looking for advice and support? Do you want to find out more about the scheme?
Please contact Boost or email: jo.hyndburnenterprisetrust@gmail.com for more information.
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