Start Up Loans Company hits £40m loan milestone in Yorkshire

The Start Up Loans Company has hit a new eight-figure milestone in its support for entrepreneurs across Yorkshire and the Humber region.

The Government-backed scheme has lent £40m to business owners in the area since launching six years ago, new figures reveal.

A total of 4,861 entrepreneurs in the region have received low-interest loans from the programme, with the average being just over £8,000.

A Start Up Loans Company spokesperson said: “It’s great to see Yorkshire and the Humber continuing to cement its position as an entrepreneurial hub, with so many people starting their own businesses with the help of our low-interest loans.

“Startups are a critical part of our economy and we’re delighted to see the growth in self-employment across the region.”

Young entrepreneur James Abbott, founder of mobile cocktail bar service Mix & Twist, is among those to have benefited from the scheme.

He used a £4000 loan to support the launch of his Leeds-based business and now employs three full-time staff, along with around 50 sub-contracted professional event staff, to make cocktails for birthdays, weddings, hen parties, corporate functions and other events.

James commented: “Although I’ve always had a dream to become my own boss, I needed access to capital in the early stages to get my idea off the ground”

“With the help of the Start Up Loans Company, I was able to use my loan to buy all of the equipment I needed to set up Mix & Twist.”

He added: “The business has since gone from strength to strength, and we are now looking to set up an online event platform to focus on smaller events as well as the larger ones we already attend.”

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