A UK Government-backed start-up loans scheme is nearing a £2 million milestone for supporting businesses in Dundee.
It has recently surpassed the landmark figure in Aberdeen.
Meanwhile, millions of pounds of lending from the British Business Bank (BBB) scheme has found its way into business accounts in Perth & Kinross, Moray and the Highlands.
BBB’s Start Up Loans programme was launched in 2012. Finance totalling more than £60m has supported more than 6,700 Scottish firms through the scheme since then.
Highland firms have received £3.3m
Edinburgh and Glasgow businesses account for about £17.5m of the lending to date.
New figures from the bank show £1.96m has also been lent to businesses in Dundee.
In Perth and Kinross the total is nearly £1.5m.
Meanwhile, more than £2m has beeen lent to about 190 firms in Aberdeen.
And BBB has supported more than 330 businesses in the Highlands with £3.3m of funding.
Board game business boost
One young couple to benefit from the Start Up Loans scheme in Aberdeen are Glenn and Jen Bowen, who launched board game rental business Rent Shuffle & Roll last year.
They started the firm after developing a love for board games during their time at university. A £20,000 loan from BBB and not-for-profit lender DSL Business Finance helped them to buy a van, allowing them to take their business on the road and promote it at gaming events.
Mrs Bowen said: “Our collection is growing constantly and we’ve almost reached 1,000 games – 300 more than we had this time last year. We were asked to provide the whole gaming library for the UK Games Expo in June so the van was pivotal in transporting them all down to Birmingham. We’re grateful to the British Business Bank and DSL for helping us find our way at the beginning.
“It’s great they’ve reached this milestone (in Aberdeen) and shown their commitment to supporting early-stage businesses, like ourselves.”
Perth upholstery entrepreneur helped by start-up loan
Other start-ups supported by the scheme include The Krooked Cat, a furniture upholstery and restoration business run by Katie Streling in Perth.
Ms Streling gout it going in a home workshop making small, bespoke items – such as bowls, clocks, eggcups, jewellery boxes – which could be sold on craft stalls.
Growing demand led to the development of larger items – home furniture and restoration pieces – which she’d always envisaged as her long-term company goal.
She received promising orders and, through the support of her start-up loan delivery partner, Newable, invested in specialist equipment and machines to speed up production and repairs. In January 2017 she moved into larger premises.
Elsewhere, a self-starter swapped courtrooms for woodland cabins to get his business renting out woodland holiday cabins up on running on Speyside.
Former criminal lawyer Paul Cannavan launched his venture, The Dell at Glenlivet, in May, with some help from the BBB’s Start Up Loans scheme and DSL Business Finance.
How much can firms get?
The Start Up Loans programme provides personal loans for business purposes of up to £25,000 at a 6% fixed interest rate per annum, as well as mentoring and other support.
Government-owned BBB launched it to help new and early-stage businesses get access to the finance and support they need in order to thrive. The not-for-profit scheme uses a network of delivery partners and is funded by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
Business owners need to take lots of different roles to take their business off the ground.
With Learn with Start Up Loans we can help you understand the parts of running a business you're not so familiar with.
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— Start Up Loans (@StartUpLoansUK) August 8, 2023
Barry McCulloch, BBB’s UK network senior manager for Scotland, said the “huge milestone” achieved in Aberdeen and the strong figures reported for Dundee, Perth & Kinross, and the Highlands, reflected the bank’s ambition to “unlock opportunities for Scottish businesses outside of the central belt”.
He added: “We’re incredibly proud of the success of the scheme since it was launched in 2012, and it’s fantastic to hear stories from people who’ve turned their dreams into reality.”
Conversation