The amount is equivalent to 31% of the £231.8 million loaned out under the programme since inception and is higher than the £69.7 million recouped in loan re-payments.The Start Up Loans scheme aims to help people launch small companies by offering personal loans of up to £25,000, which must be used for a business. The loans have a fixed interest rate of 6% per annum.
The Freedom of Information Act also revealed that 35% – or 13,719 – of the 39,566 loans issued since the scheme began are in default or have been written off by the British Business Bank.
