Scottish National Investment Bank
Scotland's government-capitalised development bank, investing £1m to £50m of debt and equity on commercial terms into businesses with a Scottish presence and a mission fit.
What they do
The Scottish National Investment Bank makes debt, equity and fund investments from £1m to £50m, with around a third of its portfolio in pure debt. It invests only on commercial terms, assessing each case against consistent financial criteria and against its three missions: net zero, place-based regeneration and innovation. The borrower must have a significant presence in Scotland or a clear commitment to establishing one alongside the bank's investment. Grants, guarantees, distressed lending and emergency financing are all outside its remit.
Where they fit in a lower-mid-market raise
The range covers a whole £3–15m raise and reaches far beyond it, which makes this one of the few patient, long-horizon lenders in the UK able to fund a Scottish business through several stages without handing it on. Capital-intensive projects in energy, infrastructure and innovation are the natural fit, and a mission-aligned business gets a hearing here that a purely commercial fund would not give.
Where they are not the fit
Scottish presence and mission alignment are both gates, and a business that meets neither should not spend time here. Terms are commercial, so this is not cheap money, and there is no published pricing, covenant or leverage grid to compare against. Distressed and emergency situations are excluded outright.
Published terms
- Pricing
- Not published
- Speed to terms
- Not published
- Sponsored or sponsorless
- Both sponsor-backed and owner-managed borrowers
- Where they lend
- Scotland only; borrower must have a significant presence in Scotland or a clear commitment to establish one alongside Bank investment
- How they decide
- Case-by-case assessment against consistent commercial and mission-impact criteria; financing tailored to specific business needs. Delegated authority or committee cadence not published
As published by the lender and last reviewed June 2026. Terms quoted on a deal are set by the credit, not by a published band.
What rules a deal out
Stated limits, taken from Scottish National Investment Bank’s own published criteria. A limit is where a lender starts from, not where it always ends: several of these move on a strong enough credit.
- No significant Scottish presence or commitment to establish one
- Not mission-aligned (net zero or place or innovation)
- Sub-commercial terms sought
- Distressed or emergency or grant funding
- Regional gate: borrower must have (or commit to establish) a Scotland presence
How they sit against the category
- Its published ceiling of £50m is the highest of the 7 regional and government-anchored funds in this directory.
- Like 6 of the 7, it publishes no indicative price — a margin comes from a conversation, not a page.
Counted across the 7 regional & government-anchored funds in this directory, on what each one publishes. What a lender discloses and what it will do are different things.
Questions this page answers
How large a facility does Scottish National Investment Bank write?
Published facilities run £1m to £50m. A band is what a lender states it will do, not what it will do on a given credit.
Does Scottish National Investment Bank lend to companies without a private-equity sponsor?
Yes. Scottish National Investment Bank lends to owner-managed and sponsor-backed borrowers alike, so a company with no private-equity backer is not out of scope on that ground.
Where does Scottish National Investment Bank lend?
Scotland only; borrower must have a significant presence in Scotland or a clear commitment to establish one alongside Bank investment.
What does Scottish National Investment Bank lend?
The published product set is development bank debt.
On the record
February 2025: ~£6.7m into Subsea Micropiles, marine anchor systems for offshore construction (scotsman.com / gov.scot.
2025: £10m equity into Aurora, building on debt facilities first provided in 2023 (gov.scot review of performance 2026.
Sources: thebank.scot
This profile is a curated reference note drawn from public sources, not financial advice or a recommendation. Appetite and terms change; a lender's fit for a given credit is established by approaching it, not inferred from a page.