Surge in number and value of equity deals in Northern Ireland should only be the beginning

When it comes to traditional business models for everyday things like shopping, holidays and transport, we are living in a time of great disruption.

The app-economy is giving consumers the chance to prioritise everything from convenience, speed and even personalised experiences, empowering users by giving them much more choice.

When it comes to access to finance for Northern Ireland’s smaller business community, having a range of options is key - one size does not fit all.

Different types of finance meet different needs and without a variety of options, many smaller businesses may struggle to reach their true potential.

Access to a range of options also helps to improve business resilience. It allows firms to spread risk, manage cashflow better and navigate through economic downturns.

For a number of years, the smaller business access to finance ecosystem has been expanding in Northern Ireland. Yet many entrepreneurs remained stubbornly attached to more traditional options such as overdrafts, loans and credit cards.

However, the British Business Bank’s latest Small Business Finance Markets report reveals a shift in behaviour, with more business owners opting for other types of support.

According to the report, the number and value of equity investment deals in Northern Ireland increased in 2025 more so than in any other part of the UK.

The value of equity deals here soared to £90 million during Q1-Q3 2025, an 83% increase on the same period in 2024, while the number of transactions increased by 35%. These rises were the biggest of any UK nation and region.

Business dynamism is showing signs of improvement, with 314,000 start-ups created UK-wide in 2025, up 1% on the previous year, and with a net rise in the overall business population. In Northern Ireland there were 6,115 new firms during this period.

And underlining the strong business resilience in Northern Ireland, the Bank’s report found that 43% of businesses started in 2019 survive beyond the five-year mark. Only the southwest region of England performed marginally better with 44% while the UK average was 38%.

It is positive to see the increase in the number and value of equity deals in Northern Ireland, but this is just a start – compared to the rest of the UK we account for a small fraction of equity investment. Overall, more work needs to be done to raise awareness of the diversity of finance.

Help is out there for those seeking finance to continue their business journey. Since its launch, just over two years ago, the £100 million Investment Fund for Northern Ireland, which provides both debt and equity finance, has directly invested £30 million into local firms.

In December the fund was bolstered by Invest NI with an additional £29.2 million for the debt financing arm of the fund.

It supports businesses at all stages of their growth journey. It recently supported Revolution Lifestyle, a 24-hour gym in Bangor, Co Down with a £450,000 loan

Features of the gym at Circular Retail Park include golf simulators, a recovery hub that has hot and cold baths, and a nutritionally focused café.

Another local business the fund has supported is Cocktail Keg Company through a £500,000 equity deal

Cocktail Keg Company are pioneers in the art of the cocktail, creating cocktails that can be served by non-trained bar staff with premium, local ingredients, from its premises in east Belfast and sells into the off-trade, on-trade and events sectors across the UK and Ireland.

For Northern Ireland entrepreneurs it’s important they have awareness of, and access to, the right kind of support to help them start up and scale up.

The British Business Bank is committed to diversity of finance for smaller businesses – we are on this journey together.