Start-up lenders merge as oyster venture takes loans to £300 million
THE Start Up Loans Company has ‘merged’ with the British Business Bank, the state-owned business development lender that helps finance smaller firms.
SULCo, which is also Government-backed, said it has been working closely with the BBB since 2014 and described the link-up as a sharing of ‘expertise’.
It said the merger, as of yesterday, would help both organisations deliver the Government’s manifesto commitment to support 75,000 micro-businesses by 2020. Formed in 2012, SULCo provides loans of up to £25,000 at 6 per cent interest, and offers mentoring.
A spokeswoman said it would be ‘business as usual’ for both teams and neither would relocate.
Keith Morgan, the BBB’s chief executive, becomes chairman of the SULCo board. SULCo’s chief executive, Tim Sawyer, will report to him. SULCo was chaired by James Caan, a former judge on TV’s Dragons’ Den. He quit in 2015 and was replaced by his deputy, Luke Williams, who is chief executive of Ignata, a professional services firm. Williams remains on the board of SULCo.
Its creative director was Yasmina Siadatan, the winner of the BBC’s The Apprentice in 2009.
Loans are funded by the taxpayer via the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy through the BBB.
The merger comes after a seafood bar business, The Oystermen, became SULCo’s 46,400th client last week when it secured a loan to open a bar and seafood restaurant in Covent Garden, bringing the total lent past the £300 million mark.
Sawyer said: ‘Since 2012, the Start Up Loans Company – with support from the British Business Bank – has lent £300 million to microbusinesses across the UK.
‘This merger recognises how successful our partnership has been and helps us improve our support for businesses who may struggle to access other forms of finance.’