Rowan Carstensen
In 2025, the British Business Bank's Start Up Loans programme saw a 9% rise in loan volumes in 2025 compared to 2024, matching the previous year's growth and highlighting a resilient pipeline of UK entrepreneurs. Demand remained broadly consistent across all four quarters of 2025, with 2,805 loans (£35.9m) in Q1, 2,861 (£36.9m) in Q2, 2,936 (£36.2m) in Q3, and 2,738 (£34.1m) in Q4, suggesting that entrepreneurial activity remained solid despite regular market shocks across the year.
For many of these founders, access to early-stage finance is the difference between an idea remaining on paper or it becoming a viable business. That is where Start Up Loans can play a critical role acting as an early enabler for entrepreneurs who are building the next generation of UK businesses, often in line with the sectors the government's Modern Industrial Strategy is focused on.
Innovation rarely happens without upfront investment. Whether it is building a prototype, investing in R&D or validating a proof of concept, founders need capital early, often before revenues are established. Fixed-interest loans from the government-backed Start Up Loans programme are a potential way to meet that need. By offering accessible finance alongside mentoring and support, the programme helps founders invest confidently in the foundations of their business.
For many, it represents the first step on a wider funding journey. Businesses that have started with Start Up Loans have gone on to get further funding either from another programme within the British Business Bank, or secured angel investment or other forms of equity financing.
The right finance and support is really important in innovation-heavy sectors such as digital technology, clean energy and advanced manufacturing. In these fields, early-stage funding can accelerate development cycles, help fund marketing and business development, help businesses recruit and in turn get the businesses ready for further investment. All these sectors mentioned have been identified in the Modern Industrial Strategy, meaning they are part of the eight sectors that have the greatest growth potential over the next decade, and are most likely to have a critical role to play in supporting economic security and resilience, net zero and regional growth.
Start Up Loans is delighted to support all businesses and to play its part in supporting high ambition, innovative companies.
Advancing aerospace manufacturing through innovation
Flyber is an East Midlands-based advanced manufacturing business operating in the aerospace and defence sectors. Founded in 2023 by Rowan Carstensen and Andrea Savi, the company specialises in high-performance composite components, producing one-off parts, small-batch test runs, and providing full design and engineering consultation, along with manufacturing. The company's work focuses on propellers, fixed-wing aircraft and drone applications, supporting highly specialised aerospace and defence use cases.
"The funding we received from the British Business Bank was fundamental and crucial to the business's success. Without it, we would not have been able to develop our first prototypes and secure our first customers. It has allowed us to establish ourselves in the market, and we're currently looking at the next round of funding and other partnership opportunities to extend our capabilities."
"2026 is going to be all about scaling for us. We'll be focusing on consolidating our UK presence and working to build traction with US customers. In particular, we're aiming to be a tier one supplier for the US defence sector. We're proud to be based in the UK, as we benefit from the 'ecosystem of expertise' that exists here for this type of engineering work."
Bringing personalised fitness to life through AI
Magic AI, founded by Varun Bhanot, is an AI-powered fitness technology business transforming how people train at home. Launched with the support of a £15,000 Start Up Loan delivered via Virgin StartUp, the company's flagship product is a smart mirror that acts as a virtual personal trainer delivering tailored workouts and using AI to analyse movement and correct form in real time.
"Early investment was critical in turning our concept into a viable product. The support allowed us to invest in building and refining our AI technology, which enabled us to bring our first product to market. That initial backing gave us the confidence and capability to innovate at pace, laying the foundations for a business built around advanced, personalised fitness technology."
Unlocking the next era of smartphone imaging
Metahelios is a UK-based camera chip company. Their novel pixel technology enables autonomous machines to be equipped with true human vision and beyond, thereby leveraging the first generation of fully autonomous robots and vehicles. Members of the most selective accelerators in the world, including NATO's accelerator, they are making strides towards creating a new standard in physical AI vision systems with applications both for consumer and defence use cases. Their technology delivers sensing with improved sensitivity, higher colour accuracy, and beyond colour vision capabilities.
Charles Altuzarra, co-founder of Metahelios, said: "Early-stage investment was essential in allowing us to take a deep-tech concept from defence into a commercial platform with global potential. Our loan gave us the foundation to prove the technology, attract early partners and ultimately, secure venture capital funding. We're building what we think of as ‘the ARM for camera chips' - a hardware solution that complements AI and pixel innovation and offers a clear path forward for an industry that needs its next breakthrough"
Using AI to tackle real-world local challenges
ScanNeo, founded by Tilly and Chris Newman from Portsmouth, develops AI-powered cameras that help communities address practical problems such as fly-tipping, damaged street signs and illegal parking. Built from their home, the company combines cutting-edge technology with a strong local focus, turning innovation into tangible solutions that improve daily life.
Tilly said: "One of the things we used our funding from Start Up Loans for was a ticket to attend a key industry conference, which gave us the opportunity to showcase our AI technology and connect with other founders facing similar challenges. It was invaluable for both growing our business and building a network of like-minded entrepreneurs."
Start Up Loans forms part of the British Business Bank's broader mission to drive economic growth by helping smaller businesses get the finance they need to start, scale and stay in the UK. Recent developments, including the £4bn Industrial Strategy Growth Capital initiative, demonstrate the scale of ambition behind this approach. By aligning investment with eight high-growth sectors, the Bank is helping to ensure that innovative businesses can access the right finance at each stage of their development.
In this context, Start Up Loans can serve as an important entry point into the UK's innovation finance ecosystem - supporting founders early on, while connecting them to a pathway of future funding as they grow and scale.