Oakapple Renewable Energy is the company looking to raise the record-breaking sum. The company also made use of the Abundance platform last year to successfully raise £480,000 for Oakapple One. The project is entitled ‘Oakapple Berwickshire’ and it’s being developed by Oakapple Renewable Energy and Edison Energy. It will involve up to 749 roof mounted solar PV systems with a total capacity of 2,595 kW. The homes are located across Berwickshire, including Duns, Eyemouth and Coldstream.
Investors are able to participate in this fundraise with as little as £5 and will enjoy an effective rate of return of 7.5% over the project’s 20 year term with the option to sell their holding at any time on the Abundance bulletin board (to date all sales here have been at par or better).
Abundance is incentivizing its investors to get on board early. They will earn 7% initial interest from the date they invest to 1st April 2015 when the solar panels are fully operational. Interest is payable monthly in arrears, and first payments are made after the minimum £500,000 investment threshold is reached. From 1st April 2015 investors will be paid their capital and interest return for 20 years, giving a 7.5% internal rate of return (IRR).
Bruce Davis, Co-Founder and joint MD of Abundance, commented:
“This is a perfect opportunity for savers with more than £1 trillion earning virtually nothing in cash savings accounts to move some of their money to something far more worthwhile and good for the UK, while getting an attractive, bank-beating return at low risk.
“Recent research revealed that 62% of people in Britain want to choose exactly where their money is going to get a return and 57% want to invest in things that give a decent return but don’t harm the planet. This latest project is offering more than £3m of exactly that opportunity and once taken up will see the total amount invested through Abundance pass the £11m mark.”
The Berwickshire Housing Association tenants living in the homes on which the solar panels are installed will enjoy a substantial drop in their energy bills – up to 30% – without having to pay anything towards the project.
Helen Forsyth, Chief Executive of the Berwickshire Housing Association explained:
“Our tenants living in these solar powered homes will enjoy a substantial drop in their energy bills, up to as much as a 30% reduction potentially saving over £100 per home a year, without having to pay anything towards the project. We’re determined to do what we can to address fuel poverty and working with Abundance investors is a fantastic way to tackle the problem.”
