NI Small BusinessLoan Fund reaches£2.5m mark

The £5m Northern Ireland SmallBusiness Loan Fund has distributed£2.5m in loans in less than two yearsto businesses across NorthernIreland. The Fund is managed byUlster Community Investment plc(UCI) on behalf of Invest NorthernIreland and delivered in partnershipwith Enterprise Northern Ireland. UCIis a subsidiary of social financeorganisation Ulster CommunityInvestment Trust (UCIT).

The Fund provides access to finance for small businesses, soletraders and partnerships which are keen to develop theirbusiness but find it difficult to access funding throughtraditional sources.

Harry McDaid, Chief Executive, UCI said: “The first loan wasdrawn down in April 2013, and since then we have made 124loans totalling in excess of £2.5m. The Fund has helpedsupport companies from a very wide range of sectors includingIT, food processing, construction, leisure, tourism and manyothers. Funding has been provided for general start-up costs,refurbishment and repairs, machinery, franchise development,exporting as well as working capital finance. We are delightedto be able to support these small businesses in their growthambitions and to help many others get off the ground.”

William McCulla, Director of Corporate Finance, Invest NI said:“The Small Business Loan Fund has been a real success todate. It has provided much needed access to funds to a widerange of businesses across all of Northern Ireland. The fundcontinues to attract strong interest and remains an importantpart of our Access to Finance portfolio.”

Gordon Gough, Chief Executive of Enterprise NI added: “TheNI Small Business Loan Fund has been a very welcomeaddition to the funding environment within Northern Ireland.The activity to date has clearly shown that the fund is filling agap in the market. It is very encouraging that we have seen somany success stories recently from clients supported by thefund and we aim for this to continue over the coming years.”

NI SMALL BUSINESS LOAN FUND

Loan purposes include working capital, buildings, plant, machinery, equipment and product development needs

Loans are typically unsecured but must show evidence of repayment capacity

RANGE OF LOANS PROVIDED:

Average loan amount

£1,000 - £50,000

£21,400Total volume

of loans provided

Businesses funded in 25 out of 26 Council areas

124

25 26

LOANS APPROVED APRIL 2013 - FEB 2015

FEBRUARY 2015

LOANS BY COUNTY

DOWN

TYRONE

FERMANAGH

DERRY/LONDONDERRY

ANTRIM

BELFAST

16

4

11

24

25

25

19

ARMAGH

Harry McDaid, Chief Executive, Ulster Community Investment Trust

LOANS BY SECTOR

Leisure Industry Academy, owned byLois Cameron and Mark Henry, is atraining provider of fitness courses inNorthern Ireland, offering services tolocal councils, leisure centres andvarious sports groups among others.The loan secured from the NorthernIreland Small Business Loan Fund willbe used to enable the company tobecome an awarding body, growing itsexport market within the UK, Ireland,and the Middle East where it alreadyhas a significant presence.

Leisure IndustryAcademy

Rocktown Trading, which trades asMaintenance Solutions Irelandprovides components used in themaintenance and repair of cars. OwnerAlan Dawson said: “The loan wereceived from the Northern IrelandSmall Business Loan Fund will enableRocktown Trading to export ourproducts across the globe through useof eBay and Amazon. It will open up anew window of opportunity for thecompany and the possibility ofexpansion in the near future.”

Rocktown Trading

Wholesale & Retail Trade 29

Accommodation & Food Service 19

Manufacturing 19

Arts, Entertainment & Recreation 14

Information & Communication 14

Administrative & Support Services 9

Other Service Activities 8

Professional, Scientific & Technical 6

Construction 4

Waste Management & Remediation 3

Transportation & Storage 2

Agriculture, Forestry And Fishing 1

New start business owner MarieMullan has used a loan from the NISmall Business Loan Fund to start herown boutique, Romantique Bridal inMagherafelt. Marie said: “The loanwas used to purchase designer stock,allowing us to present an impressiveoffering. The company is fastbecoming an established location forwould-be brides to receive expertadvice and pick from a diverse choiceof designer brands.”

Romantique Bridal

Alan Mawson, owner, Rocktown Trading; Harry McDaid, Chief Executive, UCI; Marie Mullan, owner, Romantique Bridal; William McCulla, Director of Corporate Finance, Invest NI; Mark Henry and Lois Cameron, owners, Leisure Industry Academy.

A loan from the NI Small Business Loan Fund enabledNuala Campbell to open Northern Ireland’s first trainingand management agency for costumiers and hair andmake-up artists - Titanic Creative Management. ManagingDirector, Nuala Campbell said: “I have been a professionalmake-up artist in TV and film for many years and spotted agap in the market to upskill local employees to meet thedemand for skilled artists in the ever growingentertainment production industry in Northern Ireland. TheSmall Business Loan Fund has been incredibly supportivein helping me kick start the business.”

Titanic Creative Management

Nuala Campbell, Managing Director, Titanic Creative Management, Gordon Gough, Chief Executive, Enterprise NI, Barry Connolly, Finance Director, UCI and William McCulla, Director of Corporate Finance, Invest NI.

Founded in 1991 East Coast Adventure started out as a oneman operation hiring canoes on the beach in Warrenpoint.Today the firm headed up by Mark, Ian and JenniferCumming employs 30 people and provides an outdooreducation programme, leisure pursuits and corporate teambuilding activities from five locations around CarlingfordLough. The firm has expanded to include a water-basedactivity centre, a mountain bike centre, a golf driving rangeand Bunkhouse accommodation in the Knockbarragh Valleyjust outside Rostrevor village. A loan from the NI SmallBusiness Loan Fund is enabling the firm to build six self-catering camping pods and in the process create additionaljobs.

East Coast Adventure

UCI Chief Executive, Harry McDaid with Mark Cumming, Managing Director and Ian Cumming, Operations Director, East Coast Adventure Ltd.

Learning Space NI has said a loan from the Northern IrelandSmall Business Loan Fund will help support theorganisation’s expansion plans. The education supplycompany provides a wide range of toys, games, puppets,software, books and sensory resources from their shoppremises in the Fountain Centre, College Street, Belfast.

Lorraine McAleer, Manager of Learning Space, said: “Thesupport we received from the NI Small Business Loan Fundhas been instrumental in helping to develop our business,fulfilling bigger orders and putting us on track for futureexpansion. They’ve seen the potential in our business,enabling us to take on two new members of staff.”

Learning Space NI

William McCulla, Invest NI Director of Corporate Finance, Lorraine McAleer, Manager of Learning Space NI and Harry McDaid, Chief Executive of UCI.

Teamwear Ireland Ltd manages the design and running ofonline, bespoke school and club eShops – enabling clubs tosell branded sports clothing and equipment. The Belfastbased organisation received £50,000 from the NorthernIreland Small Business Loan Fund which it will use to invest innew capital equipment and enhance its distribution networkthroughout Ireland and Europe.

John Anderson, one of the founders of Teamwear Ireland,said: “With the help of the Northern Ireland Small BusinessLoan Fund, supported by Invest NI and UCI we’re now ableto take on distributors and negotiate with suppliers aboutbreaking in to new European markets. We have found theNorthern Ireland Small Business Loan Fund to be responsiveand flexible at an important time in the development of ourbusiness.”

Teamwear Ireland

Peter Cook and John Anderson, founders of Teamwear Ireland, with Harry McDaid, Chief Executive of UCI.

Portaferry-based Boutique candle maker Castlehill Candles,said a loan from the NI Small Business Loan Fund wouldhelp assist the organisation’s growth plans.

Connie Mercer, Managing Director, said: “Investment fromthe Small Business Loan Fund has been crucial in helpingus to develop new product ranges and continue toinnovate in our designs. By 2015, we’re hopeful that 60 percent of our sales will be made up of export to markets suchas the Republic of Ireland. We’ve taken on two newmembers of staff and plan to grow with a further two eachyear.”

Castlehill Candles

William McCulla, Invest NI Director of Corporate Finance, Harry McDaid, Chief Executive of UCI and Connie Mercer, Managing Director, Castlehill Candles.

Launched in January 2013, Basketball Direct is an onlinestore that sells basketball clothing, equipment andaccessories across the world, currently shipping to 90countries. Owner, Niall McDermott said: “We want toincrease our export markets as basketball is a global sport.I approached the Fund to help finance the working capitalrequirements and to aid the development of our websitethat would enable us to break into new markets. The Fundwas very supportive of the business and shared my visionfor growth.”

Basketball Direct

Basketball Direct owner Niall McDermott (left) with UCI Chief Executive, Harry McDaid.

Established in August 2013, Draperstown-based ‘SoPopcorn’ started producing its own range of gourmetpopcorn products using 16 domestic electrical appliances.In less than a year, the organisation has seen the popularityof its products rocket and has gone from producing 800bags of popcorn a month to over 2,000 bags every week.

So Popcorn owner, Declan McBride said: “As an ambitiousnew start-up we were keen to get our brand out there butto do so we needed a way to fund our working capitalrequirements and marketing costs. We approached the NISmall Business Loan Fund for a loan to help us expand andkeep up with the demand for business and they were morethan happy to support our ambitions for growth.”

So Popcorn

UCI Chief Executive, Harry McDaid with So Popcorn owner Declan McBride.

Those interested in finding out more about the Fundshould visit: www.nisblf.com or contact a member

of the loan team on: 0800 9882879

A loan from the NI Small Business loan Fund has enabledPush Fitness to undertake a renovation project and meetworking capital requirements. Richard Linton, co-owner ofthe Enniskillen gym and fitness studio said: “The planningprocess necessary to help secure the loan was really helpful– it’s given us a structure to plan for growth and the processhas been very straightforward.”

Push Fitness

William McCulla, Invest NI Director of Corporate Finance, Harry McDaid, Chief Executive of UCI and Richard Linton, co-owner of Push Fitness.

The NI Small Business Loan Fund LP is a limited partnership registered in Northern Ireland (No. NL75) and ismanaged by Ulster Community Investment plc (“UCI”). UCI is authorised and regulated by the Financial ConductAuthority and is permitted by the Financial Conduct Authority to undertake consumer credit lending. UCI is registered in Northern Ireland (Company No. NI030229) at 13-19 Linenhall Street, Belfast, BT2 8AA.