More start-ups than ever in Reading, says bank

Start-up businesses are a dime a dozen in the Thames Valley, if anecdotal evidence from local banks is to believed.

Getreading.co.uk reports that not only are banks lending out more money to their customers, but they’re also finding there are more businesses to lend to in general.

One Barclays bank in the city claims its seeing more people starting a business than ever, while HSBC’s Thames Valley branch in Green Park says its seen 15 per cent more demand for its business services – with invoice financing being particularly desirable.

Ria Barlabas, head of relationship banking in Reading’s Broad Street branch, said that start-up fever has been created as a result of shows like BBC Two’s ‘Dragons’ Den’.

“The record numbers of start-up businesses we are seeing is partly the Dragons’ Den effect – seeing inspirational people on television who are following their business dreams. We’re also seeing a new generation of young entrepreneurs who have learned about business at their school – which is exactly as it should be,” she says.

However, while some entrepreneurs are deciding to set up businesses for the excitement of it all, others are doing so “through necessity” because they are unable to get salaried employment.

Ms Barlabas explained that the low start-up costs associated with technology in particular have helped boost the numbers of new businesses.

Some people might find that trying to start a franchise as a new venture is also a viable route to success, with banks more likely to lend to big companies with proven results, startupsmart.au says.

Speaking of technology, Ms Barlabas says: “The cost of starting a business today can be extraordinarily low. Many businesses exist just with an electronic shop window, rather than a high street presence. They work and trade online, and their customers could just as easily be in Sydney as Sheffield.”