West Lothian has the highest rate of successful Start Up Loans applications per adult in Scotland, laying its claim to being the country’s most entrepreneurial local authority area.
Analysis by the British Business Bank found that people between the ages of 18 and 65 in West Lothian secured 279 loans from its Start Up Loans programme; totalling £2.16m of funding.
This gave it the highest loan to adult population rate in Scotland, at 2.4 per 1,000 since the scheme began in 2012.
Clackmannanshire came joint second with the Highland local authority area, with a loan rate of 2.3 per 1,000 adults, placing both ahead of Scotland’s cities and larger council areas.
North Ayrshire was fourth on the list, with 2.2 loans per 1,000 adults spread over total funding of £1.1m.
Meanwhile, owners of smaller businesses in Edinburgh received the highest amount of lending at £8.29m, but the Scottish capital had the fifth highest loans per 1,000 adults at 2.1.
Top five Scottish local authority areas by Start Up Loan Company loans per 1,000 adults:
Local Authority |
Loans Made |
Amount Lent (£) |
Loans per 1,000 Adults (18-65) |
1. West Lothian |
279 |
2,155,966 |
2.4 |
2. Clackmannanshire |
71 |
527,000 |
2.3 |
3. Highland |
319 |
3,109,956 |
2.3 |
4. North Ayrshire |
176 |
1,139,118 |
2.2 |
5. City of Edinburgh |
771 |
8,292,640 |
2.1 |
Louise McCoy, commercial director at Start Up Loans, said: “It is great to see regions in Scotland, like West Lothian and Clackmannanshire, with a mix of rural and urban areas featuring at the top of the list for Start Up Loans given, weighted according to local authority population size.
“West Lothian, particularly in and around Livingston, has a rich ecosystem of ambitious smaller businesses and it is highly encouraging that they are accessing finance to support their plans for growth.”
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