Eligible businesses can now apply for the €300 million Brexit Loan Scheme – click here to download a copy of the Information Pack.
Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Heather Humphreys TD, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed TD, and Minister for Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform, Paschal Donohoe TD, opened the Brexit Loan Scheme for applications back in March to allow for the roll out of €300 million in funding to eligible Irish businesses.
Eligible businesses can now apply through the participating finance providers: the Scheme is open through Bank of Ireland and Ulster Bank, with AIB following in June.
The first step for businesses will be to complete the eligibility criteria for the Scheme on the SBCI website.
Minister Humphreys said “Coming from a business background, I am acutely aware of the challenges that Brexit poses to firms. This €300 million Brexit Loan Scheme is one of a number of supports that the Government has put in place to help companies prepare.”
“The Scheme will provide much-needed finance to eligible business impacted by the UK’s decision to leave the European Union. I am confident that it will make a real difference to firms, enabling them to adapt, change and innovate. This, in turn, will help them to become more competitive, a fundamental trait in any resilient business”, Minister Humphreys added.
About the Brexit Loan Scheme
The Brexit Loan Scheme, which was announced in the 2018 budget, will provide affordable financing to businesses that are either currently impacted by Brexit or will be in the future. The Scheme, which will be delivered by the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI) through commercial lenders will make €300 million available to eligible businesses with up to 499 employees at an interest rate of 4% or less.
Loan features:
- Loan amount from €25,000 up to a maximum of €1,500,000
- Loan term of up to 3 years
- Loans less than €500,000 will be unsecured
- Interest rate of 4% or less.
Loans can be used for:
- Future working capital requirements to fund innovation, change or adaption the business to mitigate the impact of Brexit.
This Scheme is supported by an agreement with the EIF, and SBCI have signed to support lending toward innovative small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as well as small Mid-caps under InnovFin – EU finance for innovators, an initiative supported by the European Commission. This agreement allows SBCI to provide guarantees to lenders financing innovative companies in Ireland for a total of €300 million over the next two years with the support of a counter-guarantee provided by the EIF and backed under Horizon 2020, the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation. This is the first InnovFin SME counter-guarantee agreement in Ireland, enabling SBCI to enhance innovative companies’ access to funding at favourable conditions. Click here to download an information pack for the Brexit Loan Scheme.