Growth Loan Fund II
The Growth Loan Fund II is a £30m fund backed by Invest NI through ERDF funding.
The Fund will provide commercial loans of typically between £100k and £500k to fund growth, but has the ability to provide funding of up to £1.5m.
Loans will be provided on a flexible basis over a 2-7 year period. In addition, the Fund will have the ability to provide capital and/or interest moratoriums and partial bullet repayments to align with the cash-flows of the business.
The loans will typically be provided on an unsecured basis however second ranking charges or appropriate security may be sought where relevant.
Funding is complementary to existing sources of finance including banks, trade finance and equity.
The Fund will also be able to support transaction related opportunities, this will come with certain restrictions in relation to the overall funding structure and the level of new capital being invested alongside the Fund.
-
Eligibility Criteriaadd_circle
- Must be an SME based in Northern Ireland which can demonstrate growth potential and generally be in the manufacturing, engineering or tradable services sectors with export potential.
- Companies must be able to demonstrate ability to service loan repayments from projected cashflows.
- Applicants cannot operate in the excluded sectors, such as coal mining, steel making, ship building, as defined by the EU Risk Capital guidelines or be a company in an insolvency process.
- Must have an identified funding gap in a proposed investment.
- Informal approaches over the telephone are welcomed to discuss the loan proposal, but in due course a business plan will be required to progress a loan application.
-
What We Doadd_circle
- Provide loans to established SME companies seeking access to growth finance. Whilst a positive trading history is desirable, where this is not evident businesses should be able to demonstrate a recent return to profitability with a clear plan to build on this.
- Loans will be provided between the range of £100k and £500k, but the fund has the ability to provide loans of up to £1.5m on a 2-7 year term. Payment terms can be tailored to suit the cashflow needs of the business.
- Pricing will depend on risk assessment of each company, plus an additional annual charge.
- Loans provided are expected to be complementary to existing sources of finance including banks, trade finance sources and equity investors.
