New €30m lending fund for SMEs announced

Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland and business lender Bibby Financial Services said funding would provide invoice finance facilities to more Irish SMEs

Mark O’Rourke, managing director of Bibby Financial Services Ireland, with finance minister Paschal Donohoe, and Colin Moran, head of lending at the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland

The State’s Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI) and business lender Bibby Financial Services Ireland have announced a new €30m fund to help small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to help manage their cashflows.

This funding will allow Bibby Financial Services to provide invoice finance facilities to more Irish SMEs. 

Invoice finance is a working capital facility that gives businesses access to flexible finance. It allows for the release of cash which is currently tied up in outstanding customer invoices, which helps improve company cashflow and allows companies to grow.

Bibby Financial Services said the €30m fund would allow the company to offer up to €5m for individual SMEs that are eligible to use the facility, with a minimum facility period of 24 months, competitive pricing with up to 1.3% discount from the standard facility rates, as well as flexible funding that will help SMEs to navigate economic challenges.

Bibby Financial Services Ireland managing director Mark O’Rourke said this latest fund was a “truly significant milestone” for the company’s partnership with the SBCI.

“This announcement with the SBCI will allow us to continue working with SMEs — the backbone of the Irish economy — for many years to come to ensure they have funding solutions they need, such as invoice finance, to unlock working capital and pursue ambitious growth plans for the rest of 2025 and beyond,” he said.

SBCI has been in partnership with Bibby Financial Services since 2016, supporting SMEs with invoice finance facilities designed to unlock the value of unpaid invoices, freeing up working capital that can be reinvested.

This new fund brings SBCI’s lending partnership with Bibby Financial Services to €100m, with more than €70m already deployed.

SBCI head of lending Colin Moran said the partnership with Bibby Financial Services had “helped hundreds of businesses across Ireland access affordable working capital when they’ve needed it most”.

“This latest facility will ensure even more businesses can strengthen their cash-flow and seize opportunities for the future.” 

The SBCI was established in 2014 to ensure companies could access funding when the private sector could not or would not provide funding.