Raising capital for positive change
UK Crowdfunding Association
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Triodos Bank UK has raised ￡4.35m for charity Empower Community Foundation through two separate bond offers on its crowdfunding platform.
Empower was created to accelerate the transition to sustainable low carbon local economies by seeking to ensure the financial benefits of renewable energy go back into local communities. Its two 5MW solar parks generate enough electricity to power the equivalent of 2,600 homes a year combined.
The parks were originally brought into community ownership using bridging loans, most of which was refinanced by a secured long-term loan from Triodos Bank’s Project Finance team.
The Corporate Finance team worked with Empower to refinance the expensive subordinated debt by issuing a bond on the bank’s crowdfunding platform. The first tranche of ￡2.35m was raised in 2022 and the second ￡2m tranche in 2023.
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Alex Grayson, Trustee of Empower Community Foundation said, “We have all seen the impact of high energy prices and the vulnerability of our energy system to global geopolitical events. A strong renewable energy system can provide an alternative to this. Our structure as a charity means we can reinvest in the local communities to build resilience through this energy transition.”
Richard O’Brien, Senior Corporate Finance Manager at Triodos Bank UK said,?“We continue to see strong interest from our investors for community energy projects, where both positive social and environmental impact is really clear to see. We were delighted that we were able to refinance expensive debt on more affordable terms for the charity, freeing up more money for investment in local energy resilience projects.”?
The Corporate Finance team at Triodos Bank UK helps organisations working for positive social or environmental change to raise funds from investors. They have raised over ￡200m for impactful organisations of all sizes, including charities, social enterprises and environmental projects.
Learn more about Triodos here: https://www.ukcfa.org.uk/company/triodos-crowdfunding/
Head of Corporate Finance at Triodos Bank | Sustainable finance professional
4 个月Thank you to the UK Crowdfunding Association for shouting about the impactful organisations that have successfully raised investment crowdfunding. Triodos Bank