More than €50 million will be invested in 100 or so Irish businesses this year through the tax-efficient employment and investment incentive scheme, or EIIS, according to estimates by the investment manager BVP.

The programme, a successor to the business expansion scheme, will run until 2020, providing tax relief on investments made in qualifying companies. BVP said it had itself invested in four companies in 2017, in parking, refrigeration, energy storage and anaerobic digestion.

"This is a key month for EIIS investors and investee companies as the deadline for 2017 investors approaches. We have recently launched our 11th EIIS fund, which will close on 31st December, and we expect to raise €2 million this round," said BVP's chief executive, Elliott Griffin.

Companies that qualify for the scheme will typically be new or have been trading for no more than seven years. The tax relief, most of which investors earn upfront, is an attractive incentive. The average investment is €20,000.