Growth Loan Fund II (ERDF)
Summary:
Growth Loan Fund II (ERDF) is a £30 million loan fund designed to support established SMEs seeking access to growth finance. Applicants will be NI based with an export focus and demonstrating growth or strong growth potential. Loans are typically between £100,000 and £500,000.
Eligibility criteria:
- 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.
Additional information:
- 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.
The Growth Loan Fund II is a £30m fund backed by Invest NI through ERDF funding.
Support organisation:
- Whiterock Capital Partners
Phone:
028 9500 1060
Email:
info@whiterockcp.co.uk
Find out more:
Growth Loan Fund II
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