Following a summer where local sporting heroes made their mark at national and international level, Community Finance Ireland has launched a £5 million fund aimed at sports clubs throughout the island of Ireland.
The new fund will make flexible loans of £10,000-£500,000 available to sports organisations seeking to make a change in their local community whether that is to renovate changing or training facilities for their players and participants, or to improve local infrastructure that makes their club grounds more accessible for the local community.
The fund launched today at an online event, ‘Financial As Well As Physical Fitness Is Key To Success’, with panellists including Sinead Reel, Chairperson of Armagh Ladies’ GAA County Board, sports journalist for the Irish Times Joanne O’Riordan, and Irish Olympian Brendan Boyce who trains at the Community Finance Ireland funded Finn Valley Athletics Club in Donegal.
Speaking at the event, Phelim Sharvin, Head of Community Finance (NI) at Community Finance Ireland said:
“The considerable appetite for finance from the sports sector shows no signs of slowing down, with almost a third of queries to our website coming through from sports clubs .
The success of NI sports people this summer has meant that there’s increasing demands on clubs who are experiencing growing membership and interest in their offerings. We know that the flexibility of the loan terms, alongside the speedy decision-making process makes this an attractive product for sports clubs.
With just over a third of loan applications last year coming from the sports sector, this is an area Community Finance Ireland know really well. In the period June 2020-June 2021, queries from sports organisations were higher than ever with roughly a quarter of these approaches coming from Northern Ireland. Interest from GAA and football clubs continues to be strong, however we’re starting to see engagement from less traditional disciplines like gymnastics and cricket where increasing membership requires additional space and therefore investment in facilities.”
Phelim Sharvin- Head of Community Finance (NI), Community Finance Ireland
Flight Gymnastics in County Antrim, a client of Community Finance Ireland since 2017, has experienced a 300%+ increase in membership in the past 24 months. Andrew O’Hare and Judith Hindes attribute recent growth in part to the Olympics, but more so coming out of lockdown and the need younger people have to develop much needed fundamental movement and social interaction skills greatly affected over the last 18 months.
Andrew O’Hare from Flight Gymnastics said:
“We’ve been working with Community Finance Ireland since 2017, accessing finance for working capital and the installation of a specialist heating system in our premises. The relationship we have with the team means they know our business and how we work and the fast decision-making process means that we can be as flexible as possible in responding to the changing needs of our members. Due to a significant increase in our membership base we’re currently looking at expanding our premises and we know that Community Finance Ireland understands how important this facility will be, not only to us but to our members and their families.”
Andrew O’Hare, Flight Gymnastics
Here’s What You Need to Know
1. What loan product types are available?
- Short term bridging loans to facilitate retrospective drawing of grant support (interest only, plus grant upon redemption).
- Longer term loans with bespoke repayment schedules.
2. What geography does the fund cover?
- Northern Ireland, Ulster, Munster, Leinster and Connacht.
3. What is the loan range?
- £10k – £500k (NI).
- €10k – €500k (RoI).
4. What is the term range?
- 1 month – 180 months.
5. What is the interest rate?
- Maximum 6.25%*, calculated on a reducing balance.
- *The lowest maximum rate across the island.
6. Is there an arrangement fee?
- No*
- *The only bridging product available across the entire island to do so.
7. What security is required?
- None on bridging loans.
- Most of our term loans are also unsecured.
- No Personal Guarantees are required.
8. Is there an Early Repayment penalty?
- No.
9. How long does a loan decision take?
- 48 hours for any loan request of up to £/€200k once we have all of your final information.
- Up to 4-6 weeks for loan request in excess of £/€200k.
10. How do I apply?
