Investment Fund for Northern Ireland passes £100m of total investment across 75 deals in 64 businesses

Shawn Jhanji

Sep 25

6 min read

Updated: 6 days ago

The Investment Fund for Northern Ireland has passed £100m of total investment, the British Business Bank said on 24 September 2026, across 75 investments into 64 businesses. The fund started lending and investing in November 2023.

Two workers packing cardboard boxes at a wooden bench in a small workshop unit, with shelves of stock behind them — Sixty-four Northern Ireland businesses have taken money from the fund since November 2023.

The headline figure is a combination of two different things, and they behave differently. Of the total, 44 million pounds is the fund's own money. The other 62 million pounds came from private investors backing the same companies alongside it. The fund is itself around 100 million pounds in size, so on its own account it has placed a little under half of what it holds in roughly thirty-four months.

That is a useful number for a founder in Belfast, Derry or Enniskillen, for two reasons. The first is that it says how much is left: about 56 million pounds of public money still to place. At the pace of the first thirty-four months, on simple arithmetic, that would run into 2030, although regional funds usually deploy faster in their later years as pipeline builds. The second is the ratio. Every pound the fund invested came with about 1.40 pounds of private money into the same deal. That is the number the fund exists to move, and it is the strongest argument its managers have when the next allocation is being argued over.

The money goes out in two shapes. Whiterock handles debt, with loans from £25,000 to 2 million pounds. Clarendon Fund Managers handles equity, investing up to 5 million pounds in a single business. The split between the two was not published, and neither was a sector breakdown or a jobs figure.

Sue Barnard, senior investment manager at the British Business Bank, said reaching 75 investments and more than 100 million pounds of total investment was a significant achievement. The bank pointed to The Present Tree, a gift company in Crumlin, County Antrim, founded in 2013, which raised 1.8 million pounds of equity and now handles more than 10,000 orders a week. Catherine Cunningham, who founded it, said having investors who believe in the business is really special and that Clarendon are incredibly supportive.

Part of a busy week for the bank

The milestone landed in the middle of an unusually dense run of announcements. On the same day the British Business Bank agreed an ENABLE Guarantee transaction of up to 500 million pounds with the agricultural lender Oxbury Bank, and committed up to 135 million pounds to two new Advent Life Sciences funds. The day before it committed 50 million pounds to Phoenix Court and launched a £140m fund for smaller businesses in the East of England.

Those are different instruments doing different jobs. A guarantee lets a lender extend more credit against the same capital. A cornerstone commitment to a venture fund puts public money behind a private manager's judgement. A nations and regions fund like the Northern Ireland one appoints managers directly and takes the deal risk itself. The Northern Ireland figures are the only ones of the four that tell you what actually reached companies, because that fund is nearly three years old and the others have barely started.

What the milestone does not tell you

Deployment is not the same as outcome. Neither the bank nor the fund managers published how many of the 64 businesses have raised again, how many have failed, or what the equity portfolio is currently valued at. Those are the numbers that will decide whether the model gets repeated, and they will not be available for years. For now the fund can show that money is moving, that it is moving outside Belfast as well as inside it, and that private capital is following it in at a ratio of about 1.4 to one.

For founders the practical point is narrower. There is capital in Northern Ireland with a mandate to deploy, a debt route starting at 25,000 pounds and an equity route reaching 5 million pounds, and slightly more than half the fund is still unspent.

How we got here

The fund was announced in November 2023 as a £70 million vehicle, one of the British Business Bank's Nations and Regions Investment Funds, a series the bank described at the time as a £1.6 billion commitment to smaller businesses across the UK. Whiterock Capital Partners was appointed to run the debt side and Clarendon Fund Managers the equity side. The bank now describes it as a £100 million fund, and it is one of six Nations and Regions funds.

The early pace was slow. On 27 November 2024 the bank reported £10 million deployed into more than 20 businesses in the first 12 months. By 27 May 2025 the figure was £30 million across 35 businesses, made up of around £18 million from the fund and £12 million of private money alongside it.

The 16 months since then account for most of the activity. The fund's own deployment rose from about £18 million to more than £44 million, and private co-investment from £12 million to more than £62 million. Put another way, private money per public pound has roughly doubled, from about 0.7 to about 1.4.

What it means for Northern Ireland founders

The acceleration matters more than the total. A fund that has found its rhythm, and whose deals now attract more private money than public, is more likely to keep its managers and its pipeline busy for the rest of its life. It also suggests that co-investors in Northern Ireland have become more willing to sit alongside the fund, which can shorten the time a founder spends assembling a round.

Founders deciding between the Whiterock debt route and the Clarendon equity route, or considering whether an equity raise can be structured to qualify for SEIS or EIS, may want to take professional advice before approaching either manager.

Key facts at a glance

Launched: November 2023, initially as a £70 million fund.
Current size: £100 million, per the British Business Bank in September 2026.
November 2024: £10 million deployed into more than 20 businesses.
May 2025: £30 million across 35 businesses, including £12 million of private money.
September 2026: more than £100 million across 75 investments in 64 businesses.
Programme: one of six British Business Bank Nations and Regions Investment Funds.

Frequently asked questions

How much has the Investment Fund for Northern Ireland invested?

The British Business Bank said on 24 September 2026 that the fund had passed £100m of total investment across 75 investments into 64 businesses. The fund started lending and investing in November 2023.

How much of the £100m is the Investment Fund for Northern Ireland's own money?

Only 44 million pounds is the fund's own capital. The other 62 million pounds came from private investors in the same deals, about 1.40 pounds of private money for every pound the fund invested.

How much money is left in the Investment Fund for Northern Ireland?

The fund is around 100 million pounds in size, so roughly 56 million pounds of public money remains to be placed.

What types of finance does the Investment Fund for Northern Ireland offer?

Whiterock provides debt, with loans from £25,000 to 2 million pounds. Clarendon Fund Managers provides equity, investing up to 5 million pounds in a single business.

This is general information, not legal, tax or investment advice.

Key takeaways

The Investment Fund for Northern Ireland reported more than 100 million pounds of total investment on 24 September 2026, across 75 investments in 64 businesses since November 2023.
Only 44 million pounds of that is the fund's own capital. The remaining 62 million pounds came from private investors in the same deals.
The fund is around 100 million pounds in size, so roughly 56 million pounds remains to be placed.
Whiterock provides loans from 25,000 pounds to 2 million pounds, and Clarendon Fund Managers invests equity of up to 5 million pounds.
No split between debt and equity, no sector breakdown and no jobs figure were published with the milestone.

Sources

British Business Bank, news and press releases index, item dated 24 September 2026, accessed 25 September 2026. News Letter, "Investment Fund for Northern Ireland reaches £100m milestone following 75 investments", 24 September 2026. Business First, "Investment Fund for Northern Ireland reaches £100m milestone following 75 investments", 24 September 2026. British Business Bank, Investment Fund for Northern Ireland fund page, accessed 25 September 2026.