Growth and Sustainability Loan Scheme (ROI)
A long-term, low-cost scheme to support eligible businesses, including farmers and fishers, when investing in their growth and resilience or climate action and environmental sustainability.
What is the Growth and Sustainability Loan Scheme?
The Growth and Sustainability Loan Scheme (GSLS) is established and offered by the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI) and benefits from a guarantee that has been provided by the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group, with support from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE) and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).
The scheme provides SMEs and Small Mid-Caps, including farmers and fishers, with long-term financing to either:
- encourage the growth and resilience of their enterprise or
- invest in climate action and environmental sustainability measures designed to improve their performance.
A guarantee fee is payable by the borrower and will be incorporated into the overall interest rate collected by the on-lender, payable to the SBCI.
The loan scheme is available to eligible businesses as a term loan and can be provided alongside invoice finance or asset finance facilities if required.
Loan features:
- Loan amounts from €25,000 to a maximum of €3,000,000 per borrower (loan amounts are dependent on aid intensity and State aid thresholds)
- Loan terms from 7 years up to a maximum of 10 years
- Loans are unsecured up to €500,000; loans above €500,000 may be secured.
- Personal guarantees for loans in excess of €500,000 are limited up to 20% of the loan amount.
- Loans may only be used for the purposes of long-term investment for business growth and resilience or long-term investment in climate action and environmentally sustainable measures.
- Additional discounted rate for loans for climate action and environmentally sustainable purposes
- Loans are available up to 30 June 2026 or until the scheme has been fully subscribed (whichever is earlier)
Viable SME and Small Mid-Cap businesses, including farmers and fishers, that meet the eligibility criteria.
SMEs are defined by the standard EU definition contained in Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC as enterprises that:
- have fewer than 250 employees.
- have an annual turnover not exceeding €50 million and/or an annual balance sheet total not exceeding €43 million.
- are independent and autonomous, and not part of a wider group of enterprises.
- have less than 25% of their capital held by public bodies.
A Small Mid-Cap is an enterprise that is not an SME but has fewer than 500 employees.
In addition, to be eligible for the scheme, SMEs must be established in an EU Member State and operating in the Republic of Ireland.
Who Cannot Apply
An SME or Small Mid-Cap that:
- does not satisfy the eligibility criteria.
- is bankrupt or being wound up or having its affairs administered by courts.
- is subject to, or fulfils the criteria under domestic law for being placed in, collective insolvency proceedings.
- in the last five years has entered into an arrangement in the context of being bankrupt, or wound up, or having its affairs administered by courts, or has been the subject of a final judgment or final administrative decision for being in breach of its obligations relating to the payment of taxes or social security contributions, or it or any of the persons having powers of representation, decision-making or control over it has been convicted by a final judgment or a final administrative decision for grave professional misconduct, where such conduct denotes wrongful intent or gross negligence, or it or persons having powers of representation, decision-making or control over it has been the subject of a final judgment for fraud, corruption, participation in a criminal organisation, money laundering or terrorist financing, terrorist offences or offences linked to terrorist activities, or inciting, aiding, abetting or attempting to commit such offences, or child labour and other forms of trafficking in human beings
- has a substantial focus in one or more of the excluded activities or restricted sectors, or
- has been convicted of an offence or subject to a ruling concerning professional conduct, fraud, corruption, involvement in a criminal organisation, money laundering or any other illegal activity where such illegal activity is detrimental to the EU’s financial interest.
An SME or Small Mid-Cap must satisfy all of the following criteria:
- It is established in an EU Member State and operating in the Republic of Ireland
- It does not have a substantial focus on one or more excluded sectors.
- It is not established in a non-compliant jurisdiction.
- It is not delinquent or in default in respect of any other loan or lease either granted by the on-lender or by another financial institution unless (i) it has been delinquent for less than 20 days and (ii) such delinquency does not dissuade the on-lender from lending to the SME in accordance with its credit policy.
- It is not engaged in any illegal activities.
- It is not a sanctioned person or in breach of restrictive measures.
- It is not subject to any preferential tax measure regarded as harmful under the EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes.
Loans under the Growth and Sustainable Loan Scheme will be eligible for either growth and resilience investment or climate action and environmentally sustainable purposes.
NACE Codes
NACE is the standard system used in the European Union for classifying business activity. Download a list of NACE Codes applicable for the Scheme.
Applicants must not use the loan proceeds for:
- refinancing of existing term loan debt
- financing of pure real estate development activity
- financing to support the purchase of agri land
- financing to support the purchase of livestock
- financing to support the purchase of fishing vessels
- financing of specific export operations
- financing current expenditure linked to the export activity
- financing contingent upon the use of domestic over imported products
- financing the establishment and operation of a distribution network in other Member States, or
- additional restrictions apply to loans covered by Articles 14 and 17 ABER; Article 29 GBER and under the De Minimis Regulation.
For a full list of Excluded Activities, visit the SBCI website.
The Growth and Sustainability Loan Scheme operates under the following State aid measures:
De Minimis Regulation
- Small Mid-Caps.
- SMEs borrowing funds for climate action and environmental sustainability measures.
Article 17 of the General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER)
- SMEs borrowing funds to invest in growth and resilience measures.
Article 29 of the General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER)
- SMEs in the fishery and aquaculture sector implementing process and organisational innovation projects.
Articles 14 of the Agriculture Block Exemption Regulation (ABER)
- SMEs active in the primary production of agricultural products.
Articles 17 of the Agriculture Block Exemption Regulation (ABER)
- SMEs active in the processing of agricultural products and the marketing of agricultural products.
For a more extensive description of the State aid measures applicable to the scheme, visit the SBCI website.
Loan purpose
The scheme provides SMEs and Small Mid-Caps, including farmers and fishers, with long-term financing to encourage the growth and resilience of their enterprises or improve their performance in terms of climate action and environmental sustainability.
How much will the loan cost?
Variable rate loans: the interest rate on the loan will be variable and will be charged at a margin over 3-month Euribor. The margin includes the SBCI Guarantee Fee of 0.512% p.a. which is payable by us to SBCI for the loan guarantee. The margin will be agreed on a case by case basis based on our assessment of the risk of the loan, and whether the loan is a Climate Action and Environmental Sustainability (CA&ES) Loan or a Growth Loan, but will be subject to a maximum of:
Loan margin (1):
| CA&ES Loan | Growth Loan |
| 4.01% p.a. | 4.26% p.a. |
Fixed rate loans: the interest rate on the loan will be fixed for the term of the loan and includes the SBCI Guarantee Fee of 0.512% p.a. which is payable by us to SBCI for the loan guarantee. The loan interest rate will be agreed on a case by case basis based on our assessment of the risk of the loan and whether the loan is a Climate Action and Environmental Sustainability (CA&ES) Loan or a Growth Loan, but will be subject to a maximum of:
Loan interest rate (1,2):
| CA&ES Loan | Growth Loan |
| 7.70% p.a. | 7.95% p.a. |
- includes SBCI Guarantee fee
- will increase if 7 year fixed rate cost of fund increases above 2.4% p.a.
How do I apply?
- Applicants must first register (or login) on the SBCI Hub and submit an online Eligibility Application Form to check if they can access the scheme. Once the online form is completed, successful applicants will be issued with an eligibility code.
- The applicant must provide this eligibility code to Close Brothers to begin their credit application process.
Please note that the SBCI eligibility code is not a guarantee of credit approval and does not oblige the on-lender to provide finance.
Approval of loans is subject to Close Brothers Commercial Finance own credit criteria, policies, and procedures.
The Growth and Sustainability Loan Scheme will operate until 30 June 2026 or until the scheme has been fully subscribed (whichever is earlier).
If you are a new customer, please call +353 1 699 4131 to speak to one of our funding specialists or complete the form below and one of our advisers will get back to you.
