Start Up Loans provide £14m boost to entrepreneurs over 50 in Yorkshire and the Humber

· Nationally, 13 per cent of all Start Up Loans have gone to business owners aged 50 or above, providing over £140m of finance

· 13 per cent of loans issued in Yorkshire and the Humber have gone to entrepreneurs over 50, totalling £14.1m

· West Yorkshire is the county with the fourth highest value of financing from the programme in the whole of the UK, with more than £5.7m going to 498 businesses in the county

· Richmond is the Yorkshire and the Humber constituency with the most financing by loan value and volume

· 442 loans (£5.7m) have been delivered since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic

· Leeds-based Turn Your Business Round is just one example of such a business that has continued to grow since receiving a Start Up Loan

· On top of the finance, business owners who receive a Start Up Loan can also benefit from free mentoring and support

Of these loans, more than £14.1m has gone to business owners over the age of 50 in Yorkshire and the Humber. 1,286 loans have been issued to businesses, with an average loan amount of £10,969.

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.