£500 to £25,000 per person at a fixed 7.5%, for businesses starting up or trading for up to 60 months. It is a personal loan, so you owe it whatever happens to the company.
Start Up Loans are part of the British Business Bank. Two things changed on 6 April 2026: the rate for new applications rose from 6% to 7.5%, and the trading limit went from 36 months to 60 months (Start Up Loans).
The loan is a personal loan to you. You put the money into the company, and you owe it whatever happens to the business.
Terms from GOV.UK, what is a Start Up Loan and am I eligible, checked 13 October 2026.
Your company's limited liability does not protect you from this debt. If the business fails you still owe the money, and the debt stays with you when the company is dissolved. Decide how much to borrow by checking what your household could repay, as well as what the company's forecast shows.
Answer the eligibility questions on the Start Up Loans site.
Create your account. Start Up Loans says it will contact you within 2 working days.
Your address history, which the credit check uses.
The check is valid for 90 days, so have the rest of the application ready to finish inside that time.
A business plan, a cash flow forecast and a personal survival budget. A business support partner and adviser helps you prepare them. Our free cashflow template sets out your cash month by month.
Applications are handled by business support partners around the UK. The partners listed on 13 October 2026 were:
The King's Trust and X-Forces Enterprise (XFE) are specialist partners. Newable, working with UMi, provides the support after the loan.
Repayments are fixed and monthly. The example on the Start Up Loans calculator is a loan of £2,000 over 24 months at 7.5%, repaid at £90.00 a month, or £2,159.98 in total.
A larger illustration: two founders each take £20,000 at 7.5% over five years.
The founders keep all of their shares, and each is personally committed to repaying about £401 a month for five years, whatever happens to the company. Selling shares instead means giving up part of the company's future value. Our funding guide compares the cost of each route.
Illustrative figures. Check your own repayment figures with Start Up Loans before you apply.
Set out what you sell, to whom, at what margin, and what the money will buy.
Assessors check whether you can afford the repayments. Our free cashflow template shows your cash month by month and your runway.
The loan is assessed against your personal credit file. Several hard credit searches in a short period can count against you, so apply for credit selectively.
If the money buys something with a clear return, borrowing usually costs less than selling shares. If the product is unproven and years from revenue, fixed repayments can use up the cash the company needs.
£500 to £25,000 per person. Each business owner or partner can apply, up to £100,000 for one business. The rate is fixed at 7.5% a year for new applications from 6 April 2026, and the loan is repaid over one to five years. There is no application or set-up fee and no early repayment fee.
No. It is an unsecured personal loan for business use, with a credit check. You put the money into the business, and you are personally liable for repaying it whatever happens to the company. Your company's limited liability does not protect you from this debt, so decide how much to borrow based on what your household could repay.
You can apply when you are starting up or have been trading for up to 60 months. The limit was 36 months before 6 April 2026.
The rate was 6% from the start of the scheme in 2012 until 6 April 2026. Loans taken at 6% stay at 6%, because the rate is fixed for the life of the loan. New applications pay 7.5%.
Up to 12 months of free business support with a mentor after the loan, run by Newable working with UMi. A business support partner and adviser also helps you while you apply.
Debt repayment and training or education are excluded purposes. Excluded business types include property investment, gambling, activities regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, and charities.
You still owe the money. It is personal borrowing, so the debt stays with you if the company is dissolved. Check the repayments against your household budget as well as the company's forecast.
