BT launches £15,000 ICT KickStart leasing plan for start-ups

BT Business has announced a new initiative aimed at giving start-ups the chance to lease up to £15,000 worth of technology and communications equipment in order to help them grow. 

The KickStart Scheme is available to companies that have been in business for fewer than three years, and provides telephone systems, handsets, laptops, connection charges and software licences.

Start-ups are subject to credit checks, but BT said that the repayment plans are designed to be as accommodating as possible, and that leasing kit worth £3,000 costs less than £20 a week.

Declan McGlone, general manager of BT Business, said that huge numbers of new companies enter the market every year, and that BT is doing what it can to help them grow.

"The UK has an average of 270,000 start-up businesses every year. In light of the current economic climate we want to help these businesses access the products and services they need to get their new venture up and running," he said.

"Our KickStart Scheme offers finance over a fixed term, at a fixed rate, making it easier for customers to budget."

Karina Knudsen, head of business development at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), believes that the offer is well suited to small firms in the current economic climate.

"The BCC has long called for more support for small businesses. Financing that specifically helps start and grow new ventures will considerably reduce the current credit difficulties that owners face," she said.

The announcement follows O2's offer of free office space for SMEs at a location in central London that can accommodate up to 75 people.