Today, the Start Up Loans programme announces that it has delivered over £150m in funding to founders of small businesses across the South East, marking an impressive regional milestone. Since the programme launched in 2012, more than one in ten Start Up Loans have gone to a founder based in the South East.
Of the approximately 127,000 in loans taken out nationally, just under 14,000 loans have been delivered to South-East based entrepreneurs. The most entrepreneurial counties across the region were Kent, Hampshire and Surrey, which respectively saw 2,429, 1,837 and 1,572 founders take out loans to kickstart, or grow, their business.
The Start Up Loans programme, part of the British Business Bank, is committed to ensuring all founders can access the finance they need to thrive, particularly those who may otherwise be underrepresented. Since the programme’s inception, two in five (40%) of loans in the South East have gone to female founders, 18% to formerly unemployed founders and around one in ten (11%) has gone to founders younger than 25.
In 2025, almost £20m (£19.5m) was delivered by the programme to entrepreneurs based in the South East.
Blair McDougall, Minister for Small Business, said: “The South East is home to some of the brightest and most innovative entrepreneurs in the UK and through Start Up Loans, we are ensuring they have access to the finance they need to reach their full potential.
“This is an impressive milestone for the programme, which has supported thousands of entrepreneurs across the South East, boosting businesses, job opportunities and the economy.”
Louise McCoy, Managing Director, Start Up Loans Products, British Business Bank: “The South East is a hotspot for British business, and this milestone reflects the Start Up Loans programme’s impact in the region. With over 1,600 loans taken out last year, this demonstrates that founders in the South East remain willing and able to turn their business dreams into reality.”
Margate business set up with a Start Up Loan and now scaling
One entrepreneur who has recently taken out a Start Up Loan to grow his own business is Gareth Parker. Gareth worked in the charity sector in London for over two-decades, but following a day-trip to Margate in 2023, he fell in love with the foodie scene and decided to relocate his family there and pursue his dream of starting his own business.
Gareth and his business partner collectively took out £42,900* in Start Up Loans to set up Bombo Doughnuts, using the capital to help buy the machinery and put a deposit down on a space for the store. Since opening, in Spring 2024, the business has expanded, selling artisan doughnuts at pop-ups, markets and events, alongside the store. Gareth also recently secured a contract to supply doughnuts to the Emirates Stadium.
Gareth Martin, Founder of Bombo Doughnuts, Margate said: “The initial capital expenditure required for food manufacturing can be high, and our first loan was crucial in helping us get started. Demand for our product has been incredible – so strong, in fact, that we recently secured another loan to double our manufacturing capacity just to keep up.
My previous role as CEO of a football charity gave me valuable contacts, which helped us secure a contract with the Emirates Stadium, and we’re also in conversations with a few other football clubs and stadia. We began as a shop in Margate less than two years ago, and we’re already seeing just how scalable the concept can be. We also recently completed an initial investment round which will help us accelerate our growth.”
Successful South East scale-up business
Start Up Loans has supported many scale-up businesses with early financing and post loan support. One such example is technology business Kareinn, which grew from a Start Up Loan to later being acquired by a competitor.
At the point of the change of ownership, they had grown to employ 18 people in the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) business.
Starting the enterprise, the three founders, Eric Kihlstrom, Alexander Kenney and John Lanyon, lacked the financing to get started. This is where the Start Up Loans programme helped, providing a total of £30,000 across two separate loans to directors.
Eric Kihlstrom commented: “We successfully grew then exited the business and could not have done it without the Start Up Loan.”
Support to businesses in the South East
The British Business Bank is expanding its geographically-focused initiatives and will be committing £2.6bn of capital to support entrepreneurs wherever and whoever they are to access capital.
Of this increase, £350m has been allocated to two new Nations and Regions Investment Funds in the East of England and South East, expanding targeted finance to every UK Nation and region outside London. These funds are due to go live in the second half of 2026.
