Start Up Loans, and support to start your business

Transmit Startups are the UK’s largest delivery partner for the Government’s Start Up Loan scheme. We live and breathe startups, and love seeing what our recipients achieve.

We’ve helped thousand of people just like you. In fact, we award more Start Up Loans than anyone else.

Our directors are all entrepreneurs and many of our staff have started businesses themselves.

Because of our experience, we’re startup experts. We know how to help you plan for business success and apply for a Start Up Loan.

Our highly experienced business advisers are with you every step of the way. We all really want to see you succeed and will do everything we can to help you.

Once you’ve been approved for a Start Up Loan, we’ll assign you a mentor to support you during your first twelve months. Your mentor will be a soundboard for any questions you have or challenges you face.

The first step towards getting funding for your new business is our simple online application form.

1. Fill in your details and we’ll check your eligibility, run a credit check and let you know whether we can take your application forward.

2. If you’re eligible, we’ll appoint one of our experienced business advisers to your application. They will work with you to make sure your application – and business – stands the best chance of success.

They’ll work through your business plan and financial forecasts to make sure they’re watertight and well thought out. They’ll also check your ID documents and bank statements.

3. Once your documents are all complete, we’ll send them off to the decision-makers and you’ll hopefully be approved for your Start Up Loan.

4. Once approved, you’ll receive a Start Up Loan agreement to sign, and once that's done you’ll receive your money and be offered the chance to choose a business mentor.

To apply for a Start Up Loan, you will need to complete:

• A business plan
• A financial forecast for your business
• A personal survival budget

These don’t have to be perfect; we’ll help you work on them.

You may also need to provide us with:

• Personal identification documents
• Some personal bank statements

Unlike business loans, because this is a personal loan you DON’T need to provide any business accounts.

If you’re ready to get started with your business plan now:

• download our Business Planning Template
• read our guide on How to Write a Business Plan

If you want to work out whether you can afford to start a business:

• read our article on creating your Personal Survival Budget
• download our Personal Survival Budget template

Once your application has been approved and you’ve completed the paperwork, the money will usually be in your bank in a matter of days. But the length of the application process depends how prepared and responsive you are.

If your business plan and financial forecasts are all in order, we can process your application very quickly, sometimes in as little as a week.

If they need more work, or if you need time to respond to requests for information, it will take longer.

We’re here to help you get funding to start a new business and begin your self-employment adventure, so work with us to make it happen as soon as possible.

You can use your Start Up Loan to fund any aspect of your new business.

For example:

• securing premises
• buying stock
• developing your marketing
• hiring staff and professional services
• paying for equipment and tools

Take a look at our success stories section to see how other entrepreneurs have used their Start Up Loan to fund a new business.

You can apply for a Start Up Loan if you want to start a business or have a business that started trading less than two years ago.

There are eligibility criteria that you should check before you apply. For example, you need to be over 18, and you and the business need to be based in the UK.

Certain businesses aren’t eligible to receive a Start Up Loan, such as gambling, drugs and weapons, so double check before you submit an application.

If you’re not sure, read our guide: Am I eligible for a business loan?

A Start Up Loan is a loan for people who want to start a business or who started a business less than two years ago.

It is a bit different to a normal business loan because:

• you don’t need to provide any business accounts to be considered
• we’ll help you complete your business plan and financial plan
• it includes business mentoring in your first twelve months

It is ideal for people who need between £500 and £25,000 to fund a new business, along with expert business support from the start.