merrion street

Jobs Minister Richard Bruton today announced the establishment of a new fund of €125million managed by MML Growth Capital Partners Ireland which will focus on investing in Irish SMEs.

Enterprise Ireland has made a €25million commitment, under the Government’s Development Capital Scheme, to the first and final close of the fund. The balance of the funding has been committed by Allied Irish Banks, the European Investment Fund, GoldPoint Partners, and two United States subsidiaries of the Cigna Corporation.

The Development Capital Scheme forms part of the suite of new finance measures put in place through the Action Plan for Jobs, which will make a total of more than €2billion in additional funding available to Irish companies of all sizes over the coming years.

Making the announcement today, Minister Bruton said:

The Development Capital Scheme is aimed at providing funding for the mid-sized, export-oriented businesses that are so crucial to our growth – particularly manufacturing and technology companies in traditional sectors including engineering, food, life sciences, services and electronics.

Ireland has a strong tradition of successful home-grown businesses of this type, and increasing the availability of risk capital for them is critical in ensuring that they can scale sufficiently to compete in international markets, growing exports and jobs.

Julie Sinnamon, CEO, Enterprise Ireland, commented:

Commercial funding is a critical component for Irish businesses to scale and create jobs. I would like to take the opportunity to congratulate the MML team on raising their Irish fund and on establishing a presence in the Irish market. The amount and quality of the International private capital raised for this fund is a testament to the investment opportunity that Irish SMEs represent.