Investment Fund for Northern Ireland (IFNI)

What it is

This is commercial debt and equity finance, not a grant — loans of £25,000–£2m (flexible 2–7 year terms) via Whiterock Finance, and equity investment of up to £5m via Clarendon Fund Managers, for smaller businesses substantially based in Northern Ireland. Part of the British Business Bank's Nations and Regions Investment Funds; you apply by approaching the appointed fund managers directly, and must be able to service repayments from projected cashflows.

british-business-bank.co.uk and nibusinessinfo.co.uk returned 403, and the Whiterock deep page 404'd, to automated fetch on 2026-08-21; verified via BBB-domain and whiterockfinance.co.uk content surfaced in search the same day: debt £25k–£2m over 2–7 years via Whiterock; equity up to £5m via Clarendon; eligibility = SME (partnership or limited company) substantially based in Northern Ireland, proven concept with commercial traction, able to service repayments; broadly sector-agnostic with some exclusions; fund is the £70m IFNI, and BBB's 3 Dec 2025 press release records an additional £29.2m Invest NI commitment. The rescued index claim of 'expanded to ~£280m' was NOT confirmed — the Dec 2025 figure is £29.2m; do not repeat £280m. valueMin/valueMax reflect the debt arm; the equity arm runs to £5m.