Grid Finance, a new peer-to-peer finance company, launched yesterday targeting Irish small and medium sized enterprises, charities and community groups. The company is led by Derek Butler, a former accountant with PwC who later worked as country director for Goal in Haiti.

Its chief operating officer is Seán O'Riordan, a former accountant with KPMG who worked on the liquidation of Anglo Irish Bank.

Enterprise Ireland has invested in the business as a high-potential start-up. Kilcullen Kapital Partners, the investment company led by serial entrepreneur Enda O'Coineen, has invested in the new enterprise along with angel backers Frank Doyle, a former executive with Smurfit Kappa, and Eoin O'Neill, an adjunct professor of TCD.

TOM LYONS