South West businesses have benefitted from £100m of Start Up Loans financing through the Start Up Loans programme, with Gloucestershire businesses receiving over £14m of this support.

The British Business Bank's Start Up Loans programme has a 12-year legacy of delivering funding to smaller businesses who may otherwise find it difficult to secure loans from traditional lenders.

Entrepreneurs and businesses can access personal loans of up to £25,000 on a fixed 6% rate of interest to start up or grow their business. Through a partner, Newable, the programme also offers mentoring to recipients in their first year.

The programme has just marked a significant milestone: £100 million has been loaned to businesses spread across the towns and cities of the South West. More than 10,000 businesses across the region have benefitted from this financing and post loan support since its inception. These have ranged from cafés and music studios to clothing companies and microbreweries.

1,430 business owners in Gloucestershire have received Start Up Loans, totalling just over £14m of financing for start ups in the county.

One of the latest businesses to benefit is Recycle Lab, an eco-science start-up waging war on single-use plastics in scientific laboratories.

Biochemist Danielle Stephens saw the significant challenge of the extensive use and disposal of single-use plastics in the bioscience industry during her time working in laboratories.

Danielle, a Bath University graduate, said: "It hit me how much single-use plastic waste I was producing, but when I called waste management companies to find out if they would take lab plastics, I found they wouldn't touch them."

She launched Gloucestershire-based RecycleLab Ltd in 2021 with the help of a £13,000 Start Up Loan via the programme's Business Support partner BizBritain in September 2023, followed by a £12,000 second loan in July 2024. The funding supported Danielle with start-up costs including unit rental, machinery, collection vehicles and trade show attendance fees.

Danielle now collects items such as sample tubs, petri dishes and pipettes to be hand-sorted and granulated at her warehouse, ready for dispatch to a third-party recycler who will turn them into pellets.

Richard Steele, loan proposer at Biz Britain, said: "BizBritain is proud to support visionary entrepreneurs like Danielle Stephens, whose innovative work with RecycleLab tackles one of the most pressing environmental issues in scientific fields today.

"With our Start Up Loan funding, Danielle has been able to scale her operations, making a meaningful impact in reducing single-use plastic waste in laboratories. Her dedication to creating a circular economy within the biosciences industry exemplifies the forward-thinking businesses we're committed to empowering. We're excited to see RecycleLab continue to grow and pave the way for sustainable practices in science and healthcare."

Louise McCoy, commercial managing director, Small Business Lending at the British Business Bank, said: "We're thrilled that the Start Up Loans programme has delivered over £100m of funding to 10,000 businesses across the region since its launch.

"The programme aims to expand access to funding for entrepreneurs looking to start-up and grow and this latest milestone is testament to the ambition of the South West's entrepreneurs. Businesses like Recycle Lab deliver a wide range of products and services to their communities and contribute to the economic vitality of their areas."

The Start Up Loans programme helps people start or grow their business and is part of the government-owned British Business Bank's remit to make finance markets work better for smaller businesses.

They can borrow up to £25,000 at a fixed interest rate of 6% per annum and repay the loan over one to five years. The programme also provides 12 months of free business mentoring which is delivered through its post loan support partner. In the South West, there are a range of support partners including SWIG, GC Business Finance, Biz Britain and First Enterprise - Enterprise Loans and Virgin StartUp.

To learn more, visit the Start Up Loans website.