Young entrepreneurs in Harrogate thinking of applying for loans of up to £10,000 from the Government’s Start Up Loan Scheme can now get advice at a new drop-in centre.
The £112m scheme, headed up by former ‘dragon’ James Caan, provides finance and mentoring for people aged between 18-30 to kick-start their businesses.
The scheme is being delivered by a number of Delivery Partners, including Printing.com who will assist applicants with their business plans and vet loan applications, approving Start-up Loans where appropriate.
The Printing.com studio within Loyalty Matters business at 104 Station Parade is the drop-in centre for Harrogate.
Carolyn Saddington, from Loyalty Matters, said:
This is a great way to help young people in our town start a business. Our customers already include lots of businesses which are taking their first steps so this was a natural fit for us.
As well as providing finance, a key element of the Start-Up Loan Scheme is business mentoring. This begins with helping with the business plan before the loan is approved, along with on-going mentoring over the first year.
Printing.com was founded by the entrepreneur Tony Rafferty at the age of 24 with a £3,000 loan from his father, operating from home with only a computer, a laser printer and a fax machine. The company is now listed on AIM and has global operations.
Printing.com hopes to help approximately 200 entrepreneurs, not just from the creative sector but all business start-ups in the next year, and the overall scheme aims to support 45,000 young business people by 2015.
Entrepreneurs interested in the Start Up Loan Scheme should visit www.printing.com/entrepreneurs or email carolyn@loyaltymatters.co.uk for further information.
