Edinburgh to fore as young Scots entrepreneurs net £15m in start-up loans

Scottish businesses founded by entrepreneurs under the age of 30 have received £15 million of funding through the Start Up Loans programme, new figures have revealed.

Since the Start Up Loans initiative launched in 2012, 2,136 loans – nearly 40 per cent of those awarded north of the Border – have been granted to young entrepreneurs, according to the Start-Up Loans Company, which is part of the British Business Bank.

A total of 5,626 Scottish smaller businesses have so far received support through the programme, accounting for some £47m of funding.

Edinburgh received the highest overall value of Start Up Loans in Scotland, with more than £7m lent through 690 loans.

Victoria Nicol was 28 when she received a loan to help grow her language translation business, My Language Connection. It has since gone on to triple its headcount and expand its reach to serve international clients. Picture: Jon Cartwright

Glasgow saw the highest number of individual loans at 799, worth a combined £6m, while businesses in Aberdeen and Dundee received 159 and 187 loans both totalling in excess of £3.2m.

Glasgow-based Victoria Nicol was 28 when she received a loan to help grow her language translation business, My Language Connection. It has since gone on to triple its headcount and expand its reach to serve international clients.

Nicol said: “Securing funding through the Start Up Loans programme was a crucial steppingstone in the growth of My Language Connection, enabling us to secure additional contracts and build a team of employees to support the commercial and operational side of the business.

“For early-stage companies and first-time entrepreneurs, the support offered through the programme is invaluable. Securing funding meant that I was able to focus on business development and building our client relationships during the crucial first couple of years of trading.”

The £15m milestone comes as the UK-wide Start Up Loans programme surpasses more than £600m worth of loans to entrepreneurs outside of London, equating to 68,559 loans.

Richard Bearman, managing director of Start Up Loans, said: “Scotland has a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem and young people play an important part in helping that to prosper and grow.

“Providing £15m of funding to Scottish business founders under 30 is a significant milestone for the government-backed Start Up Loans programme and mirrors the success of the programme throughout the UK,” he added.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We’re more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers. If you haven’t already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription: www.scotsman.com/subscriptions