EIB gives largest ever Irish loan to Belfast firm
- Published
(Left to right) Richard Kennedy, group CEO at Devenish, Andrew McDowell, vice-president of the European Investment Bank and Owen Brennan, chairman of Devenish
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has given a €40m (£36m) loan to Belfast-based agriculture firm Devenish Nutrition.
Devenish will use the funds to create a research and development centre in Dowth, County Meath, in the Republic of Ireland.
The EIB is the long-term lending institution of the European Union, external, owned by its member states.
The Devenish loan is it largest ever to an agri-business in Ireland.
Andrew McDowell, vice-president of the EIB, said it was "a landmark deal" that would help strengthen the competitiveness of Devenish.
Pride and confidence
Devenish makes animal feeds and nutritional products, external with a particular focus on the pig and poultry sectors.
It has production facilities in Northern Ireland, England, Turkey, Uganda and the United States.
Richard Kennedy, group chief executive of Devenish, said he took pride that the EIB had "the confidence to support not just the future of Devenish, but the future of the Irish agri-food sector overall".
Devenish has also taken loans from Ulster Bank and Danske Bank as part of a three-year growth plan to increase its turnover by over £100m to about £315m.