The Best Business Loans in Ireland

Compare the best options on the market and choose the one which best adapts to your day-to-day needs.

Further Below: Our Guide To Business Loans in Ireland, Everything you need to know.

1. Avant Money

• Flexible and big loans of up to €150,000
• Attractive interest rates of 5.9% APR
• Fast application process
• Long repayment terms of between 3 and 10 years
• Open for any purpose
• Lax eligibility criteria
• The loan limit grows with timely repayments
• Excellent loan conditions

2. KBC Bank

• Loans of up to €120,000
• Friendly interest rates of 6.3% APR
• Flexible repayment terms of up to 120 months
• Available to both account holders and non-holders
• Available to clients with income 
• Few additional costs
• Excludes insurance fees

3. Allied Ireland Banks

• Big loan amounts of up to €100,000
• Fixed and attractive interest rates of 6.4% APR
• Favorable repayment periods of between 36 and 120 months
• Online app for first loan application
• Excellent loan conditions
• Fast processing of the loans
• Eligible to clients with income

Business Loans in Ireland, All You Need To Know:

We feature everything you need to know about financing your business in Ireland. This includes the available types of credits or grants which factors to consider as you contract these loans, which requirements to meet and documentation, and how to hire an offer that best suits your needs.

[UPDATE] What economic measures has the Government implemented for companies through covid-19?

While Covid-19 came with adverse effects on Ireland’s economy, the effects were not so much of a threat because of the measures taken by the Irish government to help companies and businesses to remain resilient down the valley. The Irish Government came in with the largest financial injection in history, providing a range of financial support for different sectors of the economy. 

• The Irish Government rose on every occasion to announce tax relief and other support schemes to companies and small businesses affected by the Covid-19 crisis. 

• The government stepped in to support many start-ups that were crippled by the pandemic by initiating subsidies that would help them pay their employees. The government allowed for tax-free wages of up to €410 per week, Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) of up to €350 per week, and illness benefit of €350 per week for Covid-19 patients.

• The Credit Guarantee Scheme provided loans to start-ups. These loans had excellent borrowing conditions that would help grow the business and maintain liquidity for a long time. 

• Small businesses and micro-enterprises would receive loans of up to €1.5 million under very friendly financing conditions. This is a working capital scheme that was initiated by the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland.

• Business owners that saw the need to overhaul their businesses would get support from the rescue and restructuring scheme spearheaded by Enterprise Ireland.

• Start-ups would also receive bridging financing from organizations like Competitive Start Fund or Innovative High Potential Startup Fund.

Export and Import Custom Measures

• In the heat of the pandemic, the Irish Revenue placed a “green routing” status on all pharmaceutical products that were imported into the country. This would ensure a steady supply of medicine without any forms of interruptions.

• Irish Revenue also deferred payments of import duties to help neutralize the effects of the pandemic. This policy also applied VAT on all imported goods under given conditions.

Distinguishing types of company profiles

The type of a company profile is one great determinant of the type of financing you’re able to get. Lenders have placed different conditions for different types of companies, based on a few factors. 

Let’s dive!

Companies

• Entrepreneurs: this is different from all other companies as it is yet to exist. The entrepreneur takes time to scan the market, establishes the market needs, and comes up with a palpable solution. This solution requires financing to materialize.

• Start-ups: this is a type of business that’s already existing but for a very short period. Hence, it does not have seniority, its operations are not stable, and makes fewer profits than losses.

• Consolidated companies: these companies have been running for a while and often qualify for big loans. They are stable enough and may remain resilient even during harsh economic seasons. They have high solvency and generate higher profits than losses.

• Large companies: they have a large scale of operation, mostly nationally or beyond. They qualify for big loans worth millions of Euros which are able to sufficiently meet their needs.

Self-employed

• As legal entities: these refer to professionals who are looking for loans to finance their business. They are ranked according to their level of income. Regardless of their business profile, they receive loans adapted to a single person.

• As natural persons: these are unemployed people who have their way of generating income. They mostly qualify for personal loans as their purposes are mostly personal projects like buying a car or buying appliances.

Characteristics of business loans

As you look for financing for your business, you want to hire the best possible option that will change your financial situation and that won’t be hard to reimburse. This is why you want to know what features make a good loan:

1. Cost. As of May 2022, the average lending rate in Ireland was 1.63% p.a (ECB Harmonized). While this rate has increased because of the Russian invasion, the loans are still very affordable in Ireland. However, the cost of a loan varies with different lenders.

2. Amount. This factor is determined by various factors such as the type of company profile where big businesses receive big loans, the purpose, growth prospects, and the requirements of the banks among others. 

3. Purpose. Different purposes attract different types of financing. If your purpose requires a big loan, the lender will evaluate your solvency before they can approve your application. 

4. Linkage. Especially in banks, financing always comes with related products such as insurance, business accounts, or other products of mandatory recruitment.

5. Repayment period. A lender will try as much to set a repayment period that’s consistent with the type of financing you get. Big loans have long repayment periods of probably 10 years or so, while small loans may be reimbursed in months.

6. Grace period. This refers to a time when the lender allows the borrower to go without making the monthly payments without attracting any fines or additional charges. The length of the grace period varies with entities.

7. Guarantee. A few factors determine this requirement such as the amount of loan or the type of our company profile.

8. Speed. The time taken by an entity to release the money to our account may vary. While some take a few days, others may take weeks or months. Hence, consider consulting about this so you can know when you’ll get started.

9. Terms of repayment. A lender may prefer having his clients repay the loan in monthly installments while another may love getting all the loan amount plus the interests and commissions at the end of the loan term. 

Where to get business loans

The growth of the Irish lending market has been steady since the 2008 financial crisis that birthed different lending institutions. This broke the monopoly of banks that had reserved a lion’s share and brought about other financial institutions with competitive financing conditions.

Below are the current lending institutions in Ireland: 

• Banks: they still hold a grip on the lending market. While they mostly avail financing to companies with high solvency, they have introduced some financial products tailored to businesses that qualify for small loans. 

• Companies and private capital lenders: have worked their way up to the top. They provide excellent financing conditions which either compete with banks or are better than them. Most of all, they have a very fast and easy application process that is conducted online. 

• Alternative financing platforms for crowdlending: just like private capital lenders, these platforms have top loan conditions with fast applications and concessions. Through the platform, a borrower is connected to an investor who has the liberty to either contribute to our working capital or not. The borrower is able to obtain an answer in about two days.

The decision to choose one lender over another is reserved for the borrower. Hence, you want to make an in-depth analysis of your financial situation, needs, and abilities before you sign up for a particular financial product.

Business loan conditions

The Irish Government and the Central Bank of Ireland regulate lending in Ireland, spelling all the basic requirements that businesses need to meet. However, some entities may add some unique requirements based on their financing. 

Here are some of the most common conditions:

• National registration: lenders will shy away from providing financing to a company that’s out of Ireland, where the regulations of the CBI have no reach. 
• Annual income: you’ll be required to provide the latest annual income records and in some cases, records of previous years. The lender will use this information to assess your financial situation and level of solvency.
• The seniority of the company: your company needs to have gone through the stagnation phase and attained stability. This will give the lender confidence that you can afford the loan you’re applying for. Most lenders require at least 12 months of consistent operation to provide financing. However, some loans are tailored for start-ups.
• Creditworthiness: the lender will look into your credit history and debt to income ratio to establish your eligibility for this financial product. Hence, work to ensure you maintain a positive credit score.

The above are the most basic requirements you’ll have to meet. However, beware that some lenders place laxer or more strict requirements.

Documents needed to get funding

To prove to the lender that you meet all their spelled-out requirements, you’ll need to provide supporting documents. This is why you want to ensure you submit all the needed information.

1. Documents showing your tax status
2. Documents showing your financial position as the business owner
3. Documents showing the company’s turnover
4. Corporate tax payments

The requirements are not limited to the above, and different entities may require different means of their submission (either online, sending via mail, or a courier).

Other forms of financing for companies

1. Business credit lines

This financial product allows the borrower to access a pool of funds. Contrary to loans, the borrower has the liberty to withdraw the funds as the need arises up to a certain limit. However, the borrower will only be required to repay the principal amount they will have taken out at the time of repayment instead of the whole amount they borrowed.

2. Factoring

This works best for small businesses with small needs such as repaying loans and the like. The lender pays invoices of our supplier(s) directly. We are then left to clear the loan amount with the lender on their set terms and conditions.

3. P2B or crowdlending loans

These are online platforms that connect a borrower to a private investor. It’s upon the investor to choose whether to invest in our business or not. The conditions of the loan (amount, cost, term) depend on the crowdlending platform we settle for.

4. Loans with mortgage guarantee

These loans greatly depend on our ability to provide enough guarantee of payment. Once the guarantee is provided, the lender takes time to analyze it and then grant the loan. This is longer than the previous forms of financing owing to the appraisal processes involved.

Products to invest in our company

1. Equity crowdfunding

The evolution of financial systems has spurred the growth of new technologies. Through these platforms, a private investor invests in our business project and gets a share of our company depending on the benefits of the business. In this way, we obtain financing or liquidity without going into debt.

2. Business Angels

Through Business Angels, a borrower is able to get financing especially if they have large business projects. The Business Angels managers work as a group to decide which borrower to finance, unlike in equity crowdfunding where an individual investor makes the decision alone.

3. 3F (Friends, Family, Fools)

This refers to a source of financing where the conditions are not fixed. Instead, they are agreed upon by both parties.

Aid for the financing of companies

1. Capitalization of unemployment

A self-employed person is able to turn to this option if they are looking for money to start a business. They may want to collect all the unemployment benefits they are entitled to and use the capital to start up the business.

2. Crowdfunding

Through these online platforms, a borrower is able to connect to a sponsor that’s interested in their project. The borrower is, therefore, required to publish the project so that any interested investor can know what they are signing up for.

About this page, our methodology

What this page is for: we take time to outsource the best and most relevant information about finance and all you need to know to take out loans like a pro. Hence, we ensure you’re satisfied with the financial product you take out and that it is the best available option for you.

Source: the information regarding finance, the types of credits, their current lending rates, and their regulations have been drawn from the Irish Law on consumer credits, the Bank of Ireland, and other reliable reference portals.

Methodology: The data relating to the conditions of these products (amount, term, interest, etc.) have been obtained through online research and consultation of the official statistics of the aforementioned reference sources.

About Us: FUNDGECKO is an online comparator website designed to help our clients who know less about consumer credits. We walk you through the whole nine yards, allowing you to not only compare loan offers but also know how to end up with an offer that’s most consistent with your financial situation.
Note: the services we offer are totally free for the user, as FUNDGECKO obtains its income from advertising and its featured products.