Loan company has given help to 3,484 Scottish start-ups

Thousands of people in Scotland have transformed their lives and stimulated growth in the local economy by setting up their own business, according to new figures from the Start Up Loans Company (SULC).

New data from the UK Government-backed programme shows it has loaned £24,776,482 to people in Scotland to start small businesses since it launched six years ago.

A total of 3,484 start-ups in Scotland – and 59,021 across the UK – have received its low-interest start-up loans, with the average loan in Scotland amounting to £7,112.

Mechelle Clark, 36, the founder of gourmet cheese toastie business Melt Aberdeen, received a start-up loan of £25,000 to get her venture off the ground two and a half years ago.

After being made redundant from the oil and gas sector, she attended more than 60 job interviews before deciding to go it alone.

The business generated £84,000 in turnover in its first year of trading, which grew to £130,000 in its second year.

Ms Clark has followed this up this with an £8,500 crowdfunding drive for Scotland’s first cheese restaurant, Melt 2, which is due to open on Belmont Street early next year.

SULC product development and delivery director Jane Cormack said: “It’s fantastic to hear success stories from people like Mechelle.

“The success of the scheme is down to the tenacity and ambition of our new business owners, who have taken the leap into self-employment.”

Mechelle Clark