North’s young start-up loans lagging behind
GOVERNMENT-BACKED loans of £5.6m have been given to young entrepreneurs in the North East since 2012, but the region lags behind other parts of the country on several measures.
New figures from the Start-up Loans programme, which is part of the British Business Bank, show 18-24 year-olds in the region have received 854 loans in the past 11 years – the third lowest of 12 UK regions and nations behind Wales and Northern Ireland.
But measured per head of population the region languishes bottom of the table.
Of the £110m lent nationally, London secured the largest proportion at £23.3m and the largest per head of population, while the North East’s near neighbours in Yorkshire and Humber secured £9.1m and the North West £14.4m.
The Start-up Loans programme offers personal loans of up to £25,000 at a 6% fixed interest rate per year with repayments taking place over one to five years.
Funding often comes with the opportunity for a year’s worth of mentoring and business support services.
The figures, compiled since the programme’s 2012 launch, also include a breakdown of money going to different constituencies in the
North East. They show Newcastle upon Tyne East received the highest value of loans at £325,170, followed by Tynemouth at £310,732 and Middlesbrough at £295,521.
Sophie Dale-Black, UK network director for the Midlands and North of England, British Business Bank said: “It’s amazing to see people in their late teens and early twenties with such ‘can-do’ attitudes and motivation to achieve success in working life.
“Our £100m funding milestone is a significant landmark and testament to the hard work of Start Up Loans and its business support partners, in giving people with a good business idea, no matter their age, the chance to access the funding needed to bring it to life.
“We’re determined to keep backing aspirational young people with money and mentoring.”
Now, the British Business Bank has launched a marketing campaign to encourage students to consider entrepreneurship.
The poster and screen-based campaign will feature in 54 UK cities, including at Northumbria University student halls, Newcastle University Students’ Union, South Tyneside College and Tyne Metropolitan College.
Kevin Hollinrake, Small Business Minister, said: “Every large firm started off as a small business and today’s aspiring young entrepreneurs could be the next success story.
“I urge them to explore how a
Start-Up Loan could launch their ambitions today. Through the British Business Bank, and the Help to Grow campaign, we’ve backed the next generation of business leaders with over £100m in government backed finance and we’re not stopping there.”