British Business Bank loans more than £13m in Northern Ireland

In Northern Ireland, 1,539 loans were made totalling £13,329,445. Most loans were made to men with 974 successful applications leading to investment of over £8.5million while 564 loans were made to females totalling more than £4.7million.

The most popular age range for Start Up Loans in Northern Ireland was 31-49 with 798 loans made totalling over £7.5million.

The latest figures show in 2021/22 148 loans were made totalling over £1.7million while for the rest of 2022 and into 2023, £1.3million has been shared across 111 loans.

One local company which has benefitted from support from the Start Up Loans programme is Customised Prints and Embroidery from Ballykelly.

Two years ago Adrian Mullan and his wife, Lisa decided to turn, what had initially been a hobby, into a full-time business.

Working with brands such as Portwest, Supertouch, Blaklader, Russell, Apache, Leo and TuffStuff, the business specialises in supplying personalised branded clothing for businesses and individuals along with a range of merchandise including keychains, lanyards, pens and keyrings.

In addition, the business also offers printing services for business cards, brochures and menus.

Adrian said: “We drafted a business plan and turned to the Go For It programme in Limavady for support. This enabled us to buy our first machine and build some working capital to get us up and running.

“We added a second machine last November as the business continued to progress. It’s certainly been a busy two years but we had always planned not to take staff on initially as we wanted to establish the business first.

“Now as we enter our third year, growing and taking on staff is something we are looking at.”

The company’s growth plans have been accelerated after receiving support from the British Business Bank’s Start Up Loans programme.

Adrian added: “We used the Start Up Loan to put a second van on the road and to buy a new printer. This loan has really helped us move forward a lot quicker.”

In addition to supplying loans of up to £25,000, Start Up Loans also provides 12 months of free government-backed mentoring.