SBCI Growth and Sustainability Loan Scheme 2026: full guide

The GSLS is a Government of Ireland initiative developed by the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. It is delivered by the SBCI and guaranteed by the European Investment Bank Group. Because of that guarantee, participating lenders can offer longer terms and reduced interest rates compared with their standard business loans.

The original scheme launched in September 2023 with €500 million. On 12 October 2026 the Government announced that capacity was being doubled to €1 billion, with the original funds described as substantially deployed. The scheme is now available until 30 June 2029, or until it is fully subscribed if that happens first.

At least 30% of lending under the scheme is set aside for environmental sustainability purposes, and the rest supports strategic projects for growth and resilience.

• Loan size: €25,000 to €3,000,000 per borrower, subject to aid intensity and State aidEU rules limit how much help a government can give a business. limits.
• Term: seven to ten years, with final maturity no later than 30 June 2039.
• Type: euro term loans for growth and green projects. It is not an overdraft or revolving credit facilityA facility that lets a company draw, repay and redraw funds up to an agreed limit during the facility's term..
• Security: loans up to €500,000 are unsecured, subject to certain exceptions.
• Personal guaranteesA legally binding promise by a director or other individual to repay a company's debt if the company cannot.: loans above €500,000 may need security, at the lender’s discretion; any personal guarantee is capped at 20% of the loan.
• Interest: reduced compared with standard rates, but each lender sets its own pricing. Eligible climate and sustainability loans get an extra 0.25% discount.
• Availability: until 30 June 2029 or until fully subscribed.

No single GSLS interest rate is published by the SBCI. Rates differ between lenders and depend on loan size and your company's circumstances, so compare the full offer, including the total cost of credit, before you sign.

What is the GSLS interest rate?

Each participating lender publishes its own pricing. Bank of Ireland's GSLS page, for example, sets variable rates as a reference rate plus a margin that falls as the loan gets larger, with a 0.25% margin discount for climate loans; its representative example (as at 6 October 2026) is a €100,000 climate loan over seven years at 5.532%. Our guide to business loan interest rates in Ireland compares published GSLS rates with standard bank and non-bank pricing.

A note on security and personal guarantees

Unsecured does not mean risk-free, as our guide to secured vs unsecured business loans explains. Your company is still legally bound to repay, and missed payments are reported to the Central Credit RegisterA database operated by the Central Bank of Ireland holding information on loans of €500 or more. (CCR) and appear on your company's CCR report. For loans above €500,000 a lender may ask for security over business assets and a personal guarantee from directors of up to 20% of the loan. A personal guarantee means a director could be personally liable for that portion if the company cannot repay, so take independent legal advice before signing one.

If you borrow €500,000 from two different participating lenders, both loans can be unsecured. If you borrow more than €500,000 in total from the same lender, it may require security.

In short: an economically viable SME or small mid-cap operating in Ireland, with a clean tax and social security record, that is not mainly in an excluded sector. Farmers, fishers and foresters can also qualify.

To be eligible, your business must be an SME or a small mid-cap. Under the EU definition used by the scheme, an SME has fewer than 250 employees and either turnover of €50 million or less or a balance sheet of €43 million or less. It must be independent rather than part of a wider group, and not 25% or more controlled by public bodies. A small mid-cap is a business that is not an SME but has fewer than 500 employees.

The business must also:

• Be established in an EU Member State and operating in Ireland, with a registered business address here.
• Be economically viable.
• Not be bankrupt, being wound up or in collective insolvency proceedings.
• Not have breached tax or social security obligations in the last five years, or have certain serious misconduct, fraud, corruption or money laundering findings.
• Not have a substantial focus on an excluded sector.

You do not need to be a client of Enterprise Ireland, a Local Enterprise OfficeOne of a network of 31 local offices, based in local authorities, that act as a first stop shop for small businesses and entrepreneurs in Ireland. or Bord Bia to apply.

Excluded sectors

The SBCI publishes a non-exhaustive list of excluded sectors. It includes illegal activities, tobacco, weapons and ammunition, casinos and certain gambling, fossil fuel energy, energy-intensive or high-emission industries such as cement, steel and basic chemicals, and pure real estate development or pure financial transactions. Check the full list on the SBCI website if your company works in or near any of these areas.

The scheme has two strands. Growth and resilience loans can fund long-term spending on tangible or intangible assets, machinery and equipment, research and development, business expansion, premises improvements and process innovation, subject to conditions.

Climate action and environmental sustainability loans fund green or sustainable measures, assessed through the EIB Green Checker as part of your SBCI Hub application. Examples given by the Government include building upgrades and insulation, replacement windows, LED lighting, electric vehicles and charging points, and agricultural building upgrades. Companies that earn at least 90% of revenue from sustainable activities, confirmed by an external accountant's letter, can also qualify as green SMEs.

This is where many applications go wrong. The SBCI lists the following as ineligible:

• Refinancing existing term loans or other debt.
• Export-specific financing or export-related current expenditure.
• Finance that depends on using domestic rather than imported products.
• Setting up distribution networks in other EU Member States.
• Purchase of livestock, and land acquisition for farmers.
• Purchase of fishing vessels, except under the BIM Young Fisher Scheme.

Because GSLS is a long-term loan for growth projects, it is also not designed for day-to-day overdraft needs or a revolving credit line. If your main need is working capitalThe money a business has available to fund day-to-day operations, calculated as current assets, such as cash, stock and debtors, minus current liabilities, such as suppliers and short-term debt. or replacing an expensive existing loan, a different product is likely to suit better.

You apply online through the SBCI Hub, free of charge, and the code is your ticket to apply to a lender. The steps are:

1. Register or log in on the SBCI Hub and complete the GSLS Eligibility Application Form, including your company details, the size of your business and what the loan is for.
2. If you are seeking a climate or sustainability loan, complete the green assessment in the Hub so the project can be checked against the EIB Green Checker.
3. If your company is eligible, the SBCI issues an eligibility code.
4. Keep a note of the code and its issue date. It is valid for six months from issue, as long as the scheme remains open and funded.

The same code can be used more than once and with different participating lenders, provided you stay within the maximum loan amount and the code has not expired. Remember that an eligibility code is not a credit approval. It only confirms that your business and purpose fit the scheme rules.

Once you have a code, you apply directly to a participating lender in the normal way. The Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment names the GSLS lenders as AIB, Bank of Ireland and PTSB, with Close Brothers and Finance Ireland due to start taking applications (announced 12 October 2026; checked 22 October 2026). When the expansion was announced on 12 October 2026, AIB, Bank of Ireland and PTSB reopened for new applications straight away, and Close Brothers and Finance Ireland were expected to begin accepting applications in the following weeks, so check with each lender. Bank of Ireland, for example, says GSLS loans up to €500,000 can be applied for online, with larger loans handled by a relationship manager.

The lender carries out its own credit assessment using its own lending criteria. The lender's own business loan requirements still apply, and you should expect to provide the usual loan documents: recent financial statements, management accountsInternal financial reports, usually monthly or quarterly, showing a company's recent trading, balance sheet and cash position., bank statements, tax clearance, details of the project such as supplier quotes, and identification for directors. Any finance is subject to status and lender approval.

If your company is approved and the loan generates State aid, you will receive a State aid letter. The aid amount is not the same as the loan amount, and your accountant can explain how it interacts with any other State supports you have received.

If your GSLS application is refused

Ask the lender for its reasons in writing and use its internal appeals process. If the lender is AIB, Bank of Ireland or PTSB and the internal appeal fails, your company may be able to apply to the Credit Review Service within 30 days of the decision letter.

GSLS is attractive for long-term projects, but it is not the only option. Depending on what your company needs, you could look at:

• Unsecured business loans from non-bank lenders, which can suit smaller amounts or shorter terms, though costs are usually higher.
• Asset financeAn umbrella term for funding used to acquire vehicles, plant, machinery, equipment or technology, where the asset itself usually acts as security., such as hire purchaseA form of asset finance where the company pays for an asset in instalments, often after a deposit, and takes ownership once the final payment and any option-to-purchase fee are made. or leasing, where the equipment or vehicle itself supports the finance.
• Green business loans for energy efficiency or renewable projects, which may sit alongside SEAI grants and Accelerated Capital Allowances.
• Business refinance, if your goal is to restructure existing borrowing, which GSLS cannot do.
• Invoice finance, if the pressure is on cash flow because customers pay slowly.

Welcome Finance does not arrange SBCI or GSLS loans and does not work with the scheme's participating lenders. To use the scheme, get your eligibility code from the SBCI Hub and apply directly to a participating lender. If your company also needs a shorter-term unsecured or working capital loan, our panel of specialist non-bank lenders can consider it: tell us what you need and we'll tell you honestly whether our panel can help, or where to apply instead. We are paid commission by lenders. We do not charge your company a fee and never ask for payment upfront. Welcome Finance is a commercial finance broker, not a lender, is not regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland, and arranges business-purpose finance only for companies registered in Ireland (LTD, DAC, PLC, ULC).