Entreprenuers Over 50 Better Candidates for Loans

Older Entrepreneurs Are More Likely to Get Funding

They have the characteristics money lenders are looking for

Gunnar Svanberg/Getty Images Applicants in their 50s experienced a loan success rate of 26 percent. A new study has found that while younger are the most likely to apply for funding, entrepreneurs 50 and older are the ones most likely to receive it. The study, by online business-funding platform Biz2Credit, looked at 32,000 loan applications filed over the past year. It found that 59 percent of those seeking money were in their 30s or 40s. Business owners between the ages of 50 and 59 accounted for just 18 percent of loan applications, and entrepreneurs 60-plus represented only 8 percent of those seeking funding. Nevertheless, older applicants were far more successful in getting loans. Just 16 percent of applicants in their 30s and 23 percent of those in their 40s were approved. Among applicants in their 50s, the success rate rose to 26 percent, and those in the 60-plus group did the best of all, receiving funding 30 percent of the time. The main reason for the disparity is that older businesspeople tend to have a longer track record and operations that bring in more revenue, making them a better risk for lenders. The average 60-plus entrepreneur, for example, had been in business for 57 months before , compared with 33 months for applicants in the 30-39 group. And those 60 and older averaged nearly $276,000 in annual revenue; by contrast, business owners in their 30s brought in about $209,000.

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