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£30m deployed to 35 smaller businesses as Investment Fund for Northern Ireland maintains strong start

Press release 27 May 2025

  • Milestone comes as fund announces Reform RX exit

The £70 million Investment Fund for Northern Ireland has marked a strong milestone with £30 million of finance deployed to 35 smaller businesses.

Image of Investment fund for Northern Ireland milestone

Since launch the Investment Fund for Northern Ireland has supported 35 businesses from multiple sectors with investments totalling around £18 million. These investments have been the catalyst for the crowding in of an additional £12 million in private sector funding.

Businesses which have benefitted from the fund include Cocktail Keg Company, the world’s only freshly batched cocktail company who received £500,000 in equity investment to bolster their presence in the UK, Europe and the Middle East.

AES Global Ltd received a £600,000 loan from the fund to help strengthen its foothold in the US market and expand its international reach.
The Cookstown firm designs, manufactures and supplies intercom systems and a range of security products to the global market.

Two of the fund’s headline deals include equity investments of £2.5m for Lisburn medtech company, Cirdan and £1m for innovative Pilates equipment company, Reform RX.

And in another major milestone, Pilates reformer manufacturer, Reform RX has become the first exit for the Investment Fund for Northern Ireland after it was acquired by US intelligent fitness giant, iFIT Inc for an undisclosed fund.

In June 2024 Reform RX had closed an investment round of £1.5m which included a £1m investment from the fund to further develop its technology and drive global expansion. Since receiving funding Reform RX has grown exponentially.

Gareth Thomas, Minister for Small Businesses, said:

This is a promising start for the fund, which is playing a crucial role in helping Northern Ireland’s ambitious and innovative SMEs access the finance they need to invest and grow.

As part of our Plan for Change, we are determined to give smaller businesses across all nations and regions of UK the support they need to start up and scale up, create jobs, increase local opportunity and further boost the economy.

Mark Sterritt, Director Regions and Nations Investment Funds at the British Business Bank, said: 

It has been a really encouraging start to the fund with investments into some outstanding local companies who are doing great things on the global stage.

Northern Ireland is known for its innovative businesses and entrepreneurs who push boundaries, solve problems and disrupt existing models.

Supporting businesses like these is exactly why the Investment Fund for Northern Ireland was launched, and I am excited to follow the journeys of the firms we have invested in and to also meet more local firms seeking to take the next step.

It has also been remarkable to witness the growth of Reform RX since the company received IFNI funding, leading to its successful exit. Reform RX are an excellent example of the highly innovative companies we have in Northern Ireland and the results they can achieve with the right support.

Sue Barnard, Senior Investment Manager said 

The fund is playing a crucial role in increasing the supply and diversity of early-stage finance for smaller businesses.

Tailoring funding options to the needs of a business can really help unlock its potential and provide the springboard to increased growth

As awareness of the fund and indeed the different funding options continues to grow, we are looking forward to investing in even more businesses in the years ahead and to evolving the fund to ensure it continues to provide the right support.

Launched by the British Business Bank in November 2023, Whiterock manages the debt fund, offering loans of £25,000 up to £2m, while Clarendon Fund Managers provide equity stakes in smaller businesses up to £5m.

The Investment Fund for Northern Ireland is one of six of Nations and Regions Investment Funds across the UK run by the British Business Bank.

The British Business Bank wants to break down particular barriers to finance so that access to finance is a level playing field for all entrepreneurs – wherever they are, whatever their gender, whatever their ethnicity.

The purpose of the Investment Fund for Northern Ireland is to drive sustainable economic growth by supporting innovation and creating local opportunity for new and growing businesses across the UK, whatever the economic conditions, with an inclusive approach to all eligible sectors.

To find out more about the Investment Fund for Northern Ireland visit Investment Fund for Northern Ireland.

Further Information

If you are a journalist and have a media enquiry, please contact [email protected].

Lauren Tunnicliffe Senior Manager, Communications and Marketing, British Business Bank [email protected]

Notes to editors

About the British Business Bank

The British Business Bank is the UK government’s economic development bank. Established in November 2014, its mission is to drive sustainable growth and prosperity across the UK and to enable the transition to a net zero economy, by improving access to finance for smaller businesses. Its remit is to design, deliver and efficiently manage UK-wide smaller business access to finance programmes for the UK government.

The British Business Bank’s core programmes support over £17.4bn 1  of finance to almost 64,000 2  smaller businesses.

As well as increasing the supply and diversity of finance for UK smaller businesses through its programmes, the Bank works to raise awareness of finance options available to smaller businesses. The British Business Bank Finance Hub provides independent and impartial information to businesses about finance options, featuring short films, expert guides, checklists and articles from finance providers to help make their application a success.

The British Business Bank is also responsible for administering the government’s three Coronavirus loan schemes and its Future Fund, together responsible for delivering £80.4bn in finance to 1.67m businesses. These schemes are now closed to new applications.

British Business Bank plc is a public limited company registered in England and Wales, registration number 08616013, registered office at Steel City House, West Street, Sheffield, S1 2GQ. It is a development bank wholly owned by HM Government. British Business Bank plc and its subsidiaries are not banking institutions and do not operate as such. With the exception of BBB Investment Services Limited they are not authorised or regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority or the Financial Conduct Authority. BBB Investment Services Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. A complete legal structure chart for the group can be found at www.british-business-bank.co.uk.

About the Investment Fund for Northern Ireland  

The Nations and Regions Investment Funds increases the supply and diversity of early-stage finance for UK smaller businesses, providing finance to firms that might otherwise not receive investment and help to break down barriers in access to finance.

Operating in a commercially sustainable way the Nations and Regions Investment Funds   delivers a £1.6bn commitment of new funding through investment strategies that best meet the needs of the businesses in their nation or region.

The British Business Bank is responsible for administering the Nations and Regions Investment Funds on behalf of the UK government. We have established investment funds in areas not currently served by the Bank’s existing regional funding programme as well as  launching follow-on investment funds in existing fund areas.

The £70m Investment Fund for Northern Ireland (IFNI) provides a mix of debt and equity funding. IFNI offers a range of commercial finance options with debt finance from £25k to £2m and equity investment up to £5 million. It works alongside the various support and funding organisations from across Northern Ireland as well as local intermediaries such as accountants, fund managers and banks, to support Northern Ireland’s smaller businesses at all stages of their development.

The funds in which the IFNI invests are open to businesses with material operations, or planning to open material operations, in all areas of Northern Ireland.

Investment Fund for Northern Ireland UK

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