Linked Finance gets lender approval for Covid-19 scheme

Fintech business lending firm Linked Finance has been approved as a lender under the Government's Covid-19 Credit Guarantee Scheme (CCGS).

The scheme is designed to offer low cost working capital and capital expenditure loans for businesses affected by Covid-19.

Linked Finance said it will be able to offer borrowers decisions on loans of up to €250,000 in under 24 hours from receiving their documents.

The company described the approval as a “key milestone” in its short history. It said it has created its own bespoke proprietary lending platform to “fulfil a clear need for smaller Irish businesses to access finance quickly and efficiently”.

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Since its establishment, the business has grown to deliver more than €140 million in loans to Irish businesses.

Niall Dorrian, chief executive of Linked Finance, said the company was "very pleased" that the Government had approved Linked Finance as a CCGS lender, "recognising the innovation and high levels of technical underwriting skill that we provide to Irish businesses".

“It is also an important milestone in the diversification of how businesses access finance in this country, a trend that’s been happening in many European markets in response to this pandemic,” he said.

“We’ve been proactively supporting both new and existing customers to manage the impact of Covid-19 on their businesses, and we encourage companies to avail of our fast and simple lending service.

“We want to help Irish SMEs with clear long-term viability to keep moving forward and get the cashflow support they need.”

Nick Ashmore, chief executive of the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland, said the group was "delighted to welcome Linked Finance as a partner for the Government's Covid-19 Credit Guarantee scheme".

“The addition of another provider with fast application turnaround for this scheme increases the options available for SMEs in accessing finance for their business, to address the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic,” he added.