Case Studies

Melissa Sinclair took out a Start Up Loan to open Big Hair + Beauty, a natural haircare brand for afro and curly hair.

Arabella Hill and Flavia Paterson took out two loans of £25,000 in January 2020 and £10,000 in June 2020 to set up Paterson and Hill, a clothing brand for women working in manual jobs.

Siblings Albert, Betty and Minnie Alexander took out a loan of £22,000 in 2021 to launch Kitty’s Herbery, a perfumery based in Bude, Cornwall.

Michael Hughes secured £7,000 from Start Up Loans – through The Hub – to launch a new service providing respite and mentoring sessions for young people with autism.

Whitley Bay-based supplier of organic seaweed products Seaweed & Co, is a recipient of the Start Up Loans programme.

Three female entrepreneurs used funding from Start Up Loans to launch an Indian restaurant and takeaway in Nottingham.

Eleanor Howie took secured finance of £6,500 through Start Up Loans delivery partner Virgin Start Ups in Spring 2020. Her business Valiant Lingerie provides empowering lingerie for women who have been impacted by breast cancer or risk-reducing mastectomies.

Sophie had visited, built, and worked in climbing facilities and centres all over the world and distilled their favourite parts from each to create the Tide Climbing Centre.

Jeremy May secured Start Up Loans funding through Virgin StartUp in February 2020. He had worked in the food and drink industry and came up with the idea for NICE after discovering an American brand of canned wine on Instagram and became immediately obsessed with the concept.

The local community is at the heart of Joanie's Music, with the retro-inspired guitar shop in Stirling encouraging people to get back into music during the recent Covid-19 lockdown.

Joel Clayton from Cambridge received a loan through delivery partner Transmit Start-Ups in 2019, which he used to establish a record label, Trapped Animal Records, with two other musicians.

The recipient of the 600 millionth pound from the Start Up Loans programme was Will Smith, from County Down, who took out loans of £6,000.

Dhruvin Patel took out a Start Up Loan of £500 through business support partner Virgin StartUp in 2015 to start his business Ocushield, an innovative line of products designed to protect eyes from the harmful blue light emitted by screens.

Previously working in marketing technology in London, but always having had a side-interest in naturally sourced products, when Joe left his London job in 2019 he decided it was the perfect time to pursue his dream of being his own boss.

Jane Palmer, 53, took out a £25,000 Start Up Loan in 2015 to launch Celebrating Curves, a bridal wear business for plus-size brides based in Sheffield.

Peter Rogers took out a loan of £10,000 in 2021 to launch Silverbirch Woodcraft, an online store selling bespoke and restored handmade furniture.

Helen Conway alongside her daughter Angharad and son-in-law Lance, launched their bakery business Ty Melin Bakery during coronavirus lockdown in March 2020. The trio had discussed starting a family venture for several years and had had an initial business plan drafted for over 2 ½ years.

Former baristas Theo Garcia, 24, and Alex Foss Sims, 29, met while working in a coffee shop in Gloucestershire. They started producing bottled, chilled coffee after noticing a growing demand for cold brew amongst coffee lovers.