Investment Plan for Europe: EIF and Inveready Venture Finance sign InnovFin deal for innovative companies in Spain

The European Investment Fund (EIF) and Inveready Venture Finance, a Venture Debt fund managed by Inveready Technology Investment Group, have signed a guarantee agreement to increase lending to innovative small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and small mid-caps in Spain. This transaction benefits from the support of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the heart of the Investment Plan for Europe.

The new agreement will allow Inveready Venture Finance to provide EUR 6.6 million of loans over two years to innovative technology companies in Spain, with more expected in the coming months and therefore supporting the emerging entrepreneurial ecosystem in Spain. The loans will be enabled by an EIF guarantee under the “EU InnovFin finance for Innovators” initiative with financial backing from the European Commission's Horizon 2020 programme. The agreement will make it possible for Inveready Venture Finance to offer innovative companies additional financing at favourable conditions.

Commenting on the agreement, European Commission Vice-President Jyrki Katainen, responsible for Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness, said: "The agreement between the EIF and Inveready announced today is a good example of the type of risk financing the EFSI was created for. The Inveready Fund finances SMEs at an early stage in their development, which means they are not always eligible for bank loans, so the EFSI is helping to play a crucial role in SME financing."

EIF Chief Executive, Pier Luigi Gilibert commented: “We are pleased to be signing the first InnovFin SME Guarantee EFSI agreement in Spain. By providing finance for innovative companies through EFSI we can help to support Spanish businesses to develop and strengthen new products and services”.

Carlos Conti, CEO of Inveready Venture Finance commented: “We are delighted to count with the support of the EIF in this initiative. Venture Debt, which is common in mature technology markets, is a new instrument in Spain and with the support of the EIF’s InnovFin program we will be able to access a larger pool of companies more focused on intensive R&D and offer them improved market rates”.

This is the first InnovFin transaction in Spain signed thanks to EFSI support. The deal reflects the EIB Group’s commitment to respond swiftly to calls from Member States, the European Commission and the European Parliament for a rapid launch of concrete initiatives under EFSI, accelerating lending and guaranteeing transactions capable of boosting jobs and growth in the EU.

About the European Investment Fund

The European Investment Fund's (EIF) is part of the European Investment Bank group. Its central mission is to support Europe's micro, small and medium-sized businesses by helping them to access finance. EIF designs and develops both venture and growth capital, guarantees and microfinance instruments which specifically target this market segment. In this role, EIF fosters EU objectives in support of innovation, research and development, entrepreneurship, growth and employment. EIF’s total net commitments to private equity funds amounted to over EUR 8.8bn at end 2014. With investments in over 500 funds, EIF is a leading player in European venture due to the scale and the scope of its investments, especially in high-tech and early-stage segments. EIF’s guarantees loan portfolio totalled over EUR 5.6bn in over 350 operations at end 2014, ranking it as a major European SME guarantee provider and a leading micro-finance guarantor.

About Inveready Venture Finance

Inveready Venture Finance is a venture debt closed-end fund operating in Spain, focused on technology-driven SMEs in their first years of operations. Their products aim at funding intensive R&D processes and expansion into new markets. Inveready covers a niche market gap between equity investors and bank financing. It targets early stage companies which are those that are not credit worthy enough to have access to or substantial bank financing. Inveready Venture Finance is managed by Inveready Technology Investment Group, a leading technology investment fund management firm in Spain. It counts with more than 65 portfolio companies and has backed success stories such as Password Bank, integrated in Symantec, Indysis, integrated in Intel, Lucierna, integrated in US peer Smart Bear, Palo Biofarma with a landmark deal with industry leader Novartis and leading MVNO operator Mas Movil.

About the Investment Plan for Europe

Investment Plan for Europe

About InnovFin

InnovFin

About Horizon2020

http://ec.europa.eu/programmes/horizon2020/en

Press contacts:

EIF: David Yormesor
Tel.: +352 42 66 88 346, e-mail: d.yormesor@eif.org

Inveready Venture Finance:  Carlos Conti
Tel.: +34 931807260, e-mail: cconti@inveready.com

European Commission: Annika Breidthardt/Lucia Caudet
e-mail: Annika.breidthardt@ec.europa.eu, e-mail: lucia.caudet@ec.europa.eu