Case Studies

Learn more about Bar Buoy a cocktail manufacturer in Exmouth that received £50k from Start Up Loan funding to scale up their business.

Learn more about how James Fraser, owner and chef of Ramen Electra turn his newfound skill into a business opportunity.

Learn more about Kindhaus Family Club, a “home away from home” for modern families that combines indoor play for the kids with coworking space for busy parents.

Funmi Lalwal, 55, London originally came to Start Up Loans back in 2013 to help her set up a business teaching the elderly learn Microsoft skills. She created Clip Knix, a brand offering adapted fastening underwear for women in 2018 to solve a problem that she had noticed after suffering from ill health.

Learn more about Alchemist, a specialty coffee shop in Northern Ireland.

A Somerset environmental entrepreneur has received a £20k Start Up Loan to scale-up their burgeoning rewilding business.

A landscape architect turned liqueur maker from Skewen has established an artisanal liqueur business inspired by the slow food movement, linking the pleasure of using traditional methods, sustainable ingredients and slow consumption for maximum taste.

Glasgow-based DamGoodDrams, an ecommerce platform specialising in independent spirits, is gearing up to launch its own line of whisky and take its business overseas, following a successful first year.

Emma Hamlett took out a £25,000 loan to open Collected, an independent bookshop specialising in work written by women.

Chloe Bruce took out a loan of £12,500 to launch the Chloe Bruce Academy in 2020, a business offering virtual martial arts classes and tutorials.

In April 2022, Emma and Sebastian took out a loan of £20,000 each to set up Pastéis Lisboa, Scotland’s first specialist Pastel de Nata bakery, in the heart of Glasgow’s buzzing West End.

Alice Wu, founder of Peace and Pure, took out her loan of £19,000 in 2020 to start the business.

Hannah Saunders took out a £14,700 loan in 2020 to launch Toddle Born Wild, a natural vegan children skincare brand.

Cherisse Brown took out a £10,000 loan to launch Urbee, an e-shop aiming to raise awareness about the importance of bees and other pollinating insects and the need for their conservation.

Chantal Charles-Smith took out a £25,000 loan in April 2021 to launch Laughing Llama Coffee and Bistro, a family-friendly destination in York.

Alan Lock and business partner John Mercer took out a loan of £15,000 in February 2020 to support the growth of Icarus Originals, a company founded on the premise of giving decommissioned aircraft a new life by turning them into bespoke, handmade jewellery and accessories – making memories out of icons.

Jeroo Doodmal secured a £15,000 loan in December 2021 to launch her sustainable Children’s footwear brand Pip & Henry, having noticed a gap in the market for sustainable, organic, and fair-trade children’s footwear options.

Ben Caspary launched Booheads in November 2020. His company makes sustainably made and biodegradable bamboo toothbrush heads for consumers seeking an alternative to the disposable plastic versions that end up in landfills.