Finance Ireland to Raise €230 Million in Debt and Equity Funds

Finance Ireland, a financial services company based in Ireland, is now trying to raise equity and debt funds worth €230 million to facilitate growth.

The company, which is privately owned and managed by Billy Kane, the former chief executive officer of Irish Permanent, is trying to raise €200 million debt funds and €30 million equity funds.

The Irish Times reports that Kane said that the funds will be utilized for the company’s “growth in SME lending” and agri-leasing. Under the guidance of Goodbody Stockbrokers, the company hopes to convince a number of international companies to supply the required funds.

According to Finance Ireland’s financial report, it experienced a 66% rise in net revenue and 75% rise in pre-tax profit. All sectors of the company have been enjoying strong growth. Last year, its motor finance business contributed €2.1 million to its profits, while recovering accounting and debt purchase contributed €1.3 million. The other sectors, including film finance, contributed around €244,000. This enabled the company to close the fiscal year with shareholders’ equity of €14.1 million and €8.2 million cash.

The company’s motor finance business, which is just four years old, generated new business worth €117 million in 2014, which gives it a portfolio size worth €166 million. When the company closed the fiscal year, it had 10% of the motor market in Ireland. Now, its aim is to grab 20% share in the next two years.

Everyday Group, the company’s recovery accounting and debt purchase company, partnered with CarVal Investors, a company based in the US, to acquire Friends First Finance worth €240 million in February last year.

Finance Ireland also bears the credit of financing the largest number of movie projects in the country last year. It supplied personal loans worth over €40 million to over 800 investors so that as many as 37 projects could be funded. The company also launched Everyday Asset Management, which acquired CIT Group Finance’s loan book.

Kane said that the company is experiencing a financially sound year, but profits are going to be “flat” because of investments in various overheads. Throughout the year, the company recruited 30 people to bring the number of its employees to 84, which raised staff costs by 49%.

In addition, Finance Ireland’s subsidiary Everyday Finance Limited acquired a 41% share in Ship Property Trading Company (Two) Limited worth €200,000 from Kane. Ship Property Trading Company Ltd. is involved in “residential reversionary interests”.