GC Business Finance Achieves Milestone: £125m Delivered to Nearly 10,000 UK Start Ups

GC Business Finance (GCBF), leading alternative finance provider, has reached a significant milestone by delivering £125 million in funding to almost 10,000 start up businesses across the UK.

This impressive achievement includes close to 2,000 loans provided as a National & Regional Business Support Partner and an additional 8,000 loans through the Finance Partner contract. Through this contract, GCBF supports a network of Regional, National, and Specialist Business Support Partners across the country.

Established in 2012, Start Up Loans offers financial support to new and early-stage businesses across the UK. Entrepreneurs can access personal loans for business purposes, ranging from £500 to £25,000, along with comprehensive support and guidance from the application process through to post-loan services.

GCBF initially served as a Business Support Partner exclusively for the North West. Since then, the organisation has facilitated 68,458 Start Up Loans, totalling £678 million. In the past financial year alone, 40% of the businesses supported were female-founded, and 21% of the funding was directed to businesses founded by ethnic minorities.

GCBF’s outstanding performance in supporting SMEs led to the securing of a national contract with the British Business Bank. This contract allowed GCBF to extend its services nationwide, resulting in the expansion of its team from four to 17 members and a fourfold increase in annual output.

Recent businesses supported through the Start Up Loans program include Lytham-based Craft + Common, which received £50,000 to launch its business and is now planning to open a second location just a year after starting operations. Additionally, Loughborough-based VegVan received £25,000 to purchase a food van, enabling the growth of the business.

Alex Mearns, head of Start Up Lending at GC Business Finance, said: “The Start Up Loan programme helps entrepreneurs who may otherwise struggle to access finance to secure funding, allowing us to work towards building a healthy start up ecosystem, leading to a stronger and more diverse economy. 

“Having delivered the scheme in the North West for the last 12 years, we’ve built up a solid track record supporting entrepreneurs across the region. Since becoming a national Business Support Partner, we’ve been able to work alongside more businesses nationwide to help them grow, secure finance and access business support in way that is straightforward and clear.”

Louise McCoy, Commercial Managing Director, Small Business Lending, British Business Bank: “We are proud of how many businesses Start Up Loans funding has supported, with GC Business Finance successfully delivering funding to entrepreneurs around the country. Access to finance in the early stages of starting a business is fundamental to the success of start ups, and the Start Up Loans programme is crucial in driving small business growth and prosperity nationally.

“The support the Start Up Loans programme has given to the likes of Hannah and Lauren at Craft + Common, and Terri at VegVan, shows just how important this funding is, and how successful businesses can be with the right support.”