Hospitality finance Ireland for restaurants, pubs and hotels

9%. From 1 July 2026, food and drink supplied as part of a restaurant, catering or hot takeaway service moved from 13.5% to 9%, including hot tea and coffee. Alcohol, soft drinks and bottled water stay at 23%. Make sure your till and accounting software apply the right rate to each item, especially where a bill mixes food and drink. Your accountant can confirm the treatment of anything unusual on your menu.

No. Hotel, guesthouse and B&B accommodation stays at 13.5%. Where you sell a package such as dinner, bed and breakfast, the price must be split fairly: accommodation at 13.5%, food at 9%, and alcohol and soft drinks at 23%. Since 1 January 2026, hiring rooms for conferences or other non-accommodation uses is at the standard 23% rate. Price each element realistically so your VAT returns hold up.

It can, if your company keeps some of the saving. If menu prices stay the same, more of each sale stays with you; if you cut prices, the gain passes to customers. Illustrative example: on €100,000 of VAT-inclusive food sales, VAT falls from about €11,890 at 13.5% to about €8,260 at 9%. Higher wage costs, including the minimum wage and auto-enrolment contributions, may absorb part of the gain.

Yes. With a merchant cash advance, repayments are a share of your card sales, so they rise in busy weeks and fall in quiet ones. That suits pubs and restaurants with steady card takings all year. Compare the total cost against an unsecured loan, and think about how the deductions will feel in January and February. Merchant cash advances are among the products our lender panel covers, subject to each lender's criteria.

Plan before the season ends. Lenders prefer to fund a known gap, so apply while recent takings are strong, with a cash flow forecast showing how the quieter months will be covered and the loan repaid. A working capital loan drawn in autumn and repaid over the following season is a common pattern for hotel finance. Avoid using expensive short-term funding to cover losses that will not reverse. Working capital loans are among the products our lender panel covers.

Often, yes, if the company is trading and can show it can afford the repayments. Fit-out finance spreads the cost of joinery, flooring, lighting, bar counters and furniture over a fixed term. Because much of a fit-out has little resale value, providers lean on the company's trading record. An unsecured business loan, which our panel covers, is another route, and kitchen equipment can be leased separately. Tell us what your company needs and we'll tell you honestly whether our panel can help, or where to apply instead.

Yes, if the café is run by a limited company registered in Ireland. Start-ups can apply through Welcome Finance, but most lenders look for some trading history, so options may be fewer for a new company. Sole traders and partnerships cannot apply. Your Local Enterprise Office, Microfinance Ireland (for smaller loans) and your bank are other places to look. Our guide to start-up business loans in Ireland sets out the options.

Possibly. Lenders assess the existing company's trading record, so a profitable first venue is your strongest evidence. Expect to show filed accounts, bank statements, a budget for the new site and a forecast of how repayments will be met if the second venue takes time to build trade. A newly formed company can also apply, but most lenders look for some trading history, so running the second venue through the established company usually gives more options.

Yes, usually through a commercial mortgage from a bank or specialist property lender rather than an unsecured loan. Finance Ireland lends €1m to €35m on commercial property and its published examples include hotels, and Capitalflow lists licensed premises among the property it finances. Welcome Finance does not arrange commercial mortgages or other property finance, so speak to those lenders or your bank directly.

Lenders will usually value and take security over the whole building, including any flat. Welcome Finance works only with limited companies and never with a loan secured on a home that a director or their family lives in. If the flat is let or used for the business, it can be part of a company loan. If it is someone's home, that person should take independent legal advice and speak to the lender directly.