Manufacturing & Supply Chain

The British Business Bank has announced that in the two years since its launch the £70 million Investment Fund for Northern Ireland has directly invested £30 million into local firms. In addition, these investments into smaller businesses on differing stages of their growth journey have crowded in co-investment of around £45 million, bringing the total investment level to over £75 million.

The success of the Investment Fund for Northern Ireland is now being bolstered as Economy Minister Dr Caoimhe Archibald has announced that Invest NI is committing £29.2 million to increase available debt financing in the fund. The fund offers a range of commercial finance options including debt finance and equity investment to support businesses from all sectors in Northern Ireland.

Whiterock manages the IFNI debt fund, offering loans of £25,000 up to £2 million, while Clarendon Fund Managers provide equity stakes in smaller businesses up to £5 million.

Dr Caoimhe Archibald, Minister for the Economy, said: “Access to finance is a crucial issue for many small and medium enterprises. They are the backbone of our economy, delivering jobs and prosperity across the north and I am committed to supporting their formation and growth.

“This Fund is the fourth fund in Invest NI’s Access to Finance portfolio. The commitment of a further £29.2 million from Invest NI means there is now a total of £280 million available for investment in micro businesses and SMEs across four funds.

“This further investment from Invest NI will build on the success of this fund. This funding is much needed to support early-stage businesses and growing SMEs to have the best chance of success.”

Mark Sterritt, Senior Director, British Business Bank, said: “The Investment Fund for Northern Ireland is playing a key role in increasing the supply and diversity of finance in every corner of the country. To date, the fund has seen great success supporting some of Northern Ireland’s most innovative and entrepreneurial businesses with both debt and equity investments to help them on their growth journeys.

“The additional funding from Invest NI is particularly welcome and with a strong pipeline of deals to come this finance will help the debt fund specifically as we continue supporting smaller businesses.”

George McKinney, interim Chief Development Officer, Invest NI, said: “We have invested alongside British Business Bank for seven years and are pleased to be able to provide an additional £29.2 million into the Investment Fund for Northern Ireland. As this fund is able to provide loans of up to £2 million it has real potential to have a positive impact on local businesses with ambitious growth plans.

“The success of our Access to Finance Programme has shown a need for us to provide debt and equity funds to address a gap in the market. These funds are providing finance to start-ups and SMEs at the early stage of business development, as well as more established SMEs embarking on a growth journey, when it can be hard to access funding from traditional sources.”

CAPTION

Pictured (L-R): George McKinney, Interim CDO, Invest NI; Louis Taylor, CEO, British Business Bank; Dr Caoimhe Archibald, Minister for the Economy; and Mark Sterritt, Senior Director, British Business Bank.