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Government-backed finance
Government-backed personal loans of up to £25,000 for new and early-stage businesses. Here is how the scheme works, and an honest note about where we do and do not fit.
Start Up Loans is a government-backed programme for people starting a business or trading for less than three years (with follow-on support extending a little beyond that). It provides unsecured personal loans of £500 to £25,000 per person, up to £100,000 per business across multiple partners, at a fixed interest rate set by the scheme, repaid over one to five years, with free mentoring and business support included. Over 125,000 businesses have been supported since it began.
Now the honest part, which you will rarely read on a broker's website: you do not need a broker for a Start Up Loan, and you should not pay anyone to arrange one. Applications are made free of charge through the scheme's official delivery partners via startuploans.co.uk. If that is the right product for you, go there directly. We would rather tell you that plainly and be the firm you call for the next deal than pretend we add value where we do not.
Where we do fit is everything the scheme cannot reach. You need more than £25,000. You are buying premises, a commercial unit or your first investment property. You have been trading too long to qualify, or the delivery partner said no. You need asset finance for equipment, or working capital secured against property you own. Those are commercial lending problems, they are our daily work, and several of them can be helped by the Growth Guarantee Scheme through accredited lenders.
A common pattern we see: the Start Up Loan gets the business off the ground, and eighteen months later the business has outgrown it, needing premises, kit or stock funding at a scale the scheme was never designed for. If that is where you are heading, it costs nothing to map the route early.
Also see: Government-Backed Finance · Growth Guarantee Scheme · Business Loans · Commercial Mortgages
Start with what the money is for, not the scheme name. One call maps the realistic routes and what each would take.
Frequently asked questions
Directly and free of charge at startuploans.co.uk, through the scheme's official delivery partners. The scheme publishes its current fixed interest rate and terms there. You do not need a broker for this, and you should be wary of anyone charging a fee to arrange one.
£500 to £25,000 per person as an unsecured personal loan, and multiple business partners can each apply, up to £100,000 per business, subject to the scheme's affordability and eligibility checks. Because it is a personal loan, you are personally liable for repayment regardless of what happens to the business.
Then you are into ordinary commercial lending territory, which is broader than most new business owners expect: unsecured business loans, asset finance, invoice finance and secured facilities, some of them supported by the Growth Guarantee Scheme through accredited lenders. Tell us what the money is for and we will map the realistic options.
First understand why: affordability, credit history and the business plan are the usual reasons, and the delivery partner should tell you. Some reasons can be fixed and reapplied; others point to different products entirely. We are happy to give you an honest read on which camp you are in, without charge.
Question not answered? WhatsApp Chris directly or book a call, it is quicker than email.
Start Up Loans enquiry
