The Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF), which is managed by the National Treasury Management Agency, has committed €15 million to a new fund run by debt financier Beach Point Capital.
BPC Ireland Lending II DAC, which expects to reach €150 million in size, will provide senior debt facilities to Irish small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and help them capitalise on growth opportunities.
The fund will focus on entrepreneur-led, high-growth potential companies that are either too early stage or do not have the history of profitability required to secure debt funding from other lenders in the market.
ISIF expects to commit up to €25 million to the fund with an initial commitment of €15 million at the recent first close, and a conditional commitment of up to a further €10 million at a subsequent closing.
Strategy
The fund will follow the same strategy as an existing Beach Point fund which has committed and deployed €104 million of capital in 30 high-growth Irish SMEs since September 2018. ISIF committed €30 million to that existing fund, which has supported Irish SMEs such as Glantus and Trilogy Technologies.
The fund’s loans are generally €2 million-€5 million in size, with demand typically coming from export-led businesses operating in sectors such as software/IT, high-end engineering, business services, media and telecoms.
"The new fund fills a gap in the market, supporting founders who want to take their businesses to the next level of growth, while avoiding equity dilution," said ISIF director Nick Ashmore.
