The scheme had previously only been available to 18-30 year olds, however following [ilink url=”https://www.bmmagazine.co.uk/news/18030/camerons-business-advisor-lord-young-recommends-removing-start-up-loans-age-limit/”]publication of Lord Young’s Growing Your Business[/ilink] report the programme will soon be available for anyone who needs support and help in turning their idea into a thriving business.
Chairman James Caan said “I welcome Lord Young’s recommendation to remove the age cap for Start-Up Loans. Seeing the huge success of the programme to date exceeding our initial targets by 50 per cent leaves me with no doubt that there is significant demand from more mature individuals who want a chance at being their own boss.”
The company will now work with Government to set out a plan of action as to how to tackle the older market, with a view to being ready to offer the loans to the over-30s by the end of the summer.
CEO Tim Sawyer said “we welcome Lord Young’s recommendation and we will be putting the wheels in motion to start offering start-up loans to everyone as quickly and efficiently as possible, without compromising on the quality of the support that all of our entrepreneurs get.”
Start-Up Loans doesn’t just offer money to their entrepreneurs, they also provide mentoring and exclusive products and services from partners such as Regus, Google, WorldPay, Printing.com, eBay and Intuit.
Since Autumn of last year, more than 3,500 people have got a loan from the Company and received mentoring. More than 45 per cent of those who have started their business under the scheme were unemployed before being granted the loan demonstrating the schemes potential impact on employment across the country.