New data released by Start Up Loans, part of the British Business Bank, shows that the Start Up Loans programme has delivered £250 million in lending to more than 25,000 entrepreneurs across London.
So far in 2025, 1,500 loans valued at £20m have been taken, illustrating the city’s enduring entrepreneurial drive.
The data also reveals the capital’s top 10 most entrepreneurial boroughs, ranked by volume of loans taken out since 2012. The most entrepreneurial borough is Hackney in east London, followed by Lambeth and Lewisham in south London.
Surprisingly, the City of London is the least entrepreneurial borough according to the Start Up Loans data, with just 19 small business owners taking out loans valued at just £212,400. However, nearby Hackney, where East London Tech City and Silicon Roundabout are based, is where many of the capital’s entrepreneurs are based.
The data also reveals a real north-south divide, with Hackney, Barnet, Newham, Haringey and Enfield-based entrepreneurs leading start up businesses in north London, while in the south, Lambeth, Lewisham, Southwark, Croydon and Wandsworth are the most entrepreneurial boroughs.
Start Up Loans is committed to ensuring access to funding for traditionally under-represented or economically underserved groups. Of the 25,000 loans delivered to founders in the capital, 42% were taken out by female founders and 44% were from Black, Asian and Other Ethnic Minority backgrounds (not including White Minorities).
Approximately one in eight (13%) loans were taken out by Gen Z founders, and one in 10 were taken out by the over 50s. Since the programme’s inception, nearly a quarter (23%) of loans in the capital have gone to founders who were unemployed.
One founder who has made use of the programme is Yandis Ying, founder of Dot Dot Tea, the UK’s first ready to drink bubble tea. Yandis first used the loan to bring her product to life with branding, packaging and natural ingredients.
In just two years, her business has grown rapidly and Dot Dot Tea is now stocked in London’s most popular department stores, including Harvey Nichols, Selfridges and nationwide at supermarkets like Ocado. To keep up with product demand Yandis opened her ‘bubble tea brewery’ – a new production space in Walthamstow.
Yandis Ying, founder of Dot Dot Tea, which is based in Waltham Forest and ranks 14 in the Start Up Loans London borough rankings, said: “Dot Dot Tea is an ode to our native Hong Kong, brewed locally with natural, premium ingredients at our bubble tea brewery in Walthamstow. Since launching many buyers have told us that they were looking for a premium, healthier ready-to-drink bubble tea for some time, and this shows that we successfully captured a gap in the market.”
“The Start Up Loan with support from the Business Enterprise Fund was fundamental to Dot Dot Tea’s success. There is often a lot of ‘red tape’ for business founders when setting up their business, but this wasn’t the case with Start Up Loans. Alongside the loan, I was able to access valuable start-up support, such as training workshops on how to create a future-proof business strategy, design branding, marketing from scratch and understanding financial processes.”
Louise McCoy, Managing Director of Start Up Loans Products, British Business Bank said, “Entrepreneurship is in London’s DNA. The city’s diversity, creativity and resilience continue to drive innovation and growth. At Start Up Loans, we’re proud to support so many ambitious founders who are building the next generation of businesses that make London, and the UK, such a dynamic place to live and work.
“Eight boroughs have each received more than £10 million showing that there is strong demand to start a business across London, from Croydon in the south to Barnet in the north. Wherever people have the ambition to start a business, we want to be there to help them turn that dream into a reality with finance and post loan support such as mentoring.”
Blair McDougall, Minister for Small Business and Economic Transformation, said, “London is home to some of the brightest and most innovative entrepreneurs in the world 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 London, boosting businesses, job opportunities and the economy.”
Since its inception in 2012, the Start Up Loans programme has delivered more than 125,000 loans to business owners across the UK, amounting to more than £1.25bn of funding. 70% of the total finance has gone to businesses outside of London and the South East.
The government’s Backing Your Business Plan announced this summer that the Start Up Loans programme has been expanded and will provide more than £1bn of additional lending to entrepreneurs.
The Start Up Loans programme is being scaled up to provide 69,000 loans over the next Spending Review period, with an expected increase in average loan size from £12,000 to £15,000. Based on Bank estimates, the expansion of the programme could contribute approximately £1.3bn in additional economic output, generate an additional £3.1bn of turnover and create an additional 12,600 jobs over the life of the finance.
