Business lender Capitalflow has been approved by the Central Bank as a Retail Credit Firm, which will significantly enhance its reach to a wider range of customers.
The approval allows Capitalflow to expand its product range to include consumer car finance through dealerships, buy-to-let mortgages for property investors and lending to individuals looking to invest in commercial properties.
The company, which is owned by Dutch challenger bank bunq, has advanced over €2 billion in loans since 2016 and it currently has a loan portfolio exceeding €1 billion.
It employs almost 100 people and said today it plans to expand its workforce by 50% to 150 people by 2028 to meet rising demand and to support its long-term growth.
Capitalflow said it was saw a strong performance in lending for the first half of this year and is on track to reach its new business target of €450m in 2025, reflecting a 20% increase on 2024 figures.
It added that it plans to increase its new business lending to €700m by 2028, with a focus on the intermediary market.
Ronan Horgan, the CEO of Capitalflow, said the new Central Bank approval is a major milestone that will assist the company’s plans to grow for the foreseeable future.
“This licence, and the regulations, fit very well with how we approach our customers, always putting them first in everything we do,” Mr Horgan said.
“It allows us to expand our products to meet our customers’ needs. Over the last nine years we have competed with the legacy banks by providing choice to Irish businesspeople with our current products and now with this authorisation we can meet more of our customer needs,” he added.
