BGF invests over €50 million across the island of Ireland in 2025

BGF has deployed over €50 million across the island of Ireland in 2025, supporting ambitious businesses and fuelling regional growth. This includes five new investees and follow-on funding to current portfolio companies, to support scaleup strategies in the technology, business services, healthcare and industrial sectors.

Operating from offices in Dublin, Belfast and Cork, BGF has now invested more than €260 million in over 30 companies across the island of Ireland, underscoring its long-term commitment to presence and impact in the Irish market.

New investments in 2025 included CWC Group, a family-owned specialist care provider, headquartered in Co Down — the first deal to be completed under BGF’s £300 million Invest in Women Taskforce commitment. BGF also made its first investments in Cork in 2025: Granite Digital, Ireland’s largest digital agency, and ClearSphere, a market-leading provider of cleanroom and containment solutions. Other new investments included Dublin-based Ecovis, a leading accountancy and tax services firm.

Alongside this, BGF provided follow-on funding to a number of existing portfolio companies, including Nuada, a next-generation carbon capture company, to support continued growth, acquisitions and scaleup ambitions.

The year also saw successful exits of Braidwater Group, a leading residential housebuilder, and AuditComply, a high-growth software business, delivering positive outcomes for all stakeholders. Looking ahead, BGF plans to build on this momentum, as it accelerates growth and strengthens its presence on both sides of the border.

Leo Casey, Partner and Head of Ireland at BGF, said: “2025 was a landmark year for BGF across the island of Ireland. Deploying over €50 million into ambitious businesses demonstrates the strength of the entrepreneurial ecosystem on both sides of the border and the growing appetite for patient, minority capital. This success reflects the contribution of our extensive and growing team, with 10 investors now working across the island, whose care, dedication and deep, local expertise have been central to such a successful year.

“Our approach goes far beyond funding – it’s about long-term partnership, strategic support, and giving founders the confidence to scale. We’re proud to have backed businesses in a wide variety of industries and look forward to building on this momentum in 2026.”

Leo Casey is to lead BGF’s operations across the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, following an expansion of his leadership remit. This evolution reflects the continued growth of BGF’s portfolio and investment activity, and is designed to ensure consistent, long-term support for ambitious businesses across the island of Ireland.

Leo joined BGF in 2017 to establish and lead the Dublin office, bringing more than 20 years’ experience in the Irish mid-market. Prior to BGF, he was a Director and board member at IBI Corporate Finance. Throughout his career, Leo has worked closely with owner-managed and family businesses to secure growth capital and unlock long-term value. In his new role, Leo will lead a team of investors based across the island of Ireland, responsible for identifying, investing in and supporting ambitious SMEs with patient capital, to accelerate growth.

Patrick Graham, Regional Investment Partner for BGF in Ireland, said: “The expanded Head of Ireland role is about bringing a unified BGF approach across the island of Ireland, and sharing experience and knowledge for the benefit of our portfolio companies. By strengthening collaboration between our teams in Belfast, Dublin and Cork, we are better positioned to support ambitious businesses, during their growth journeys. I look forward to continuing to work closely with Leo and the teams, as we build on the strong momentum across the region.”

BGF remains fully committed to backing ambitious, growing businesses across the island of Ireland, as part of its wider UK and Irish pledge to invest a further £3 billion, over the next five years. With a strong and growing pipeline as it enters 2026, BGF continues to focus on minority investment partnerships, sector expertise, and practical value creation initiatives, to help management teams sustainably scale their businesses.