South West is the start-up business hot spot for over-50s entrepreneurs.

Start Up Loans, part of the British Business Bank, today announces that it has delivered more than £140m of loans to UK entrepreneurs aged 50+ since its inception in 2012.

The programme has supported 13,422 loans, at an average of £10,427 per loan.

Of these loans, more than £14.78m have gone to business owners over the age of 50 in the South West. So far, 1,474 loans have been issued to businesses, with an average loan amount of £10,028.

By UK region, the South West had the second highest number of loans by value outside London and the South East.

Start Up Loans has delivered more than £13m worth of loans nationally to the over-50s in the financial year running 1 April 2023 - 31 March 2024. This represents a significant contribution to national efforts to encourage people aged 50+ back into work through a variety of initiatives designed to help stimulate economic growth.

Nationally, almost half (£64m) has been delivered since the first Covid-19 lockdown, with 4,664 issued since April 2020 with a value of £63,928,454, reflecting an average loan of £13,707 per business. That's an average increase of more than £2,600 compared to the four-year period before Covid-19, reflecting the difficult operating conditions businesses have been facing.

In the South West, over £7m has been delivered since the first Covid-19 lockdown, providing a total of 532 loans. In this period, the average loan value per business was £13,246 - an increase of more than £3,000 compared to the four-year period before Covid-19.

Steve Conibear, UK Network director South West at the British Business Bank, said: "You can further your business ambitions at any age. It's why we encourage anyone with a good business idea to get in touch and learn more about how the Start Up Loans programme might be able to help turn it into reality.

"It is interesting to note the high proportion of the funding during and after the pandemic, suggesting that many people of 50+ re-evaluated and took action to pursue their business ambitions."

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.

If you would like to learn more, visit the Start Up Loans website.