Abundance Investment and Downing Crowd reach new milestones in renewable energy projects.
Investors looking for ethical options now have more choices when it comes to peer-to-peer lending.
Lending platform Downing Crowd has launched two regular access crowd bonds, with one for a renewable energy generation and storage company.
The bonds give investors the chance to invest without locking in their money for a set period of time. A fixed amount of the total portion will be released at a fixed time, with investors having the option to take out the money.
The first £10m bond is for renewable energy company Bagnall Energy Limited. The firm has contributed to over £100m developments in everything from solar to hydro since its launch in 2013 and has net assets of £95m.
The initial interest rate for the bond is 3 per cent per annum with a loan-to-value ratio of 10.5 per cent.
The second bond offering from Downing Crowd is for Pulford Trading Limited, an asset-backed trader and lender. The £10m bond will also have a 3 per cent interest rate return and a loan-to-value of 8.5 per cent.
Julia Groves,Downing LLP partner and head of crowdfunding, says the regular access bonds fill a gap in the investment market.
“And the option to hold the Bonds in our Innovative Finance ISA wrapper, launched in March of this year, meaning investors’ capital and interest will be sheltered from tax too,” she said.
Ethical lender Abundance Investments also gives investors the chance to invest with their conscience.
The firm just passed the £50m mark in investments thanks in part to the Innovate Finance ISA and three renewable projects in tidal, geothermal and energy efficiency technologies.
“The IFISA wrapper makes our investments an even bigger win for our investors, and this added appeal has made the flow of capital to projects crucial to the UK’s carbon reduction efforts a bigger win for the whole country,” said Bruce Davis, founder and joint MD of Abundance.
The Atlantis tidal energy raised £4.3m, while the Green Deal bond has gotten £3.95m and the United Downs Geothermal project has raised 60 per cent of its £3.8m target (£2.7m) in under a week.
