A new €70m funding package that will allow small Irish businesses to borrow specialist equipment and vehicles at a lower cost has been announced.
SMEs can avail of a 1.57pc discount for specialist machinery as part of the scheme from the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI) and FEXCO Asset Finance.
The product offering from FEXCO, which has become the SBCI’s 8th lending partner, currently covers 68 different asset types including fixed equipment, plant and machinery, production lines, medical/dentistry and green energy.
The more traditional leasing of vehicles, cars and van is also covered under the funding package that allows Irish SMEs more access to lower-cost finance.
Mike O’Halloran,CEO FEXCO Asset Finance is “delighted” with the collaboration with SBCI and said that the fund “will be available to SMEs for the finance of business assets which can support growth while facilitating improved cash flow management”.
Minister for Finance Michael Noonan said that the partnership shows how the Government can work with domestic business to support the SME sector.
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“Today’s announcement is another example of the commitment in the Programme for a Partnership Government to increase the availability of credit for SMEs and the provision of supplementary sources of finance,” he said.
SBCI has provided funding to four new lenders, Ulster Bank, First Citizen, Bibby Financial Services and FEXCO this year, announcing in July that it had facilitated more than 8,600 loans since being established in early 2015.
“We are pleased to close out 2016 by partnering with FEXCO whose product offering will cover, in particular, asset types which have traditionally been more difficult for businesses to finance such as fixed equipment and plant machinery,” CEO Nick Ashmore said.
“Looking ahead to 2017, we will continue to play our part in supporting growth in Irish businesses through the management of the Credit Guarantee Scheme, launching the new Agri Cash Flow Support loan for farmers, and driving awareness of our lower cost finance.”
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