Fund set to help mid-size firms

The first recipients of funding from the €75m BDO development fund are expected to draw down their cash in the near future.

The fund was established at the start of March to target mid-sized companies with a turnover of between €15m and €50m a year.

It had been recognised that while there were a lot of funding options in place for start-ups and large firms, mid-sized firms had very few alternative sources to traditional funding from banks.

BDO is looking to invest between €2m and €10m in 15 companies and partner with BDO, Sinead Heaney, said the fund is on the cusp of making its first investments.

“We launched on March 3 and we are in advanced discussions with two companies and we are hoping that we will be making an announcement very soon,” she said.

Ms Heaney said that the fund were looking to de-risk businesses by investing in them either alongside or in conjunction with banks.

Sectors that are of particular interest to the fund include food and agri; life sciences and clean tech; ICT/software and engineering.

The fund is looking at a number of possible ways of structuring the investments, ranging from taking an equity stake in the business to arranging a bond that the company could buy back.

Ms Heaney said that following a countrywide roadshow they had received very positive feedback from companies and that she expects the fund to be fully invested in three years.

“We expect it will be invested over three years. There is huge demand out there but there is also a long lead-in time before investments,” she said.