Charity Bank receives £4m investment boost to fuel new lending growth
Melanie May | 7 October 2021 | News
Charity Bank has today (7 October) announced £4m in equity investments from six new investors as well as an approved investment from existing shareholder, Big Society Capital.
Through leveraging these investments with deposits, Charity Bank will be able to make more than £32m in new loans to UK charities and social enterprises.
The investments come from: Garfield Weston Foundation (£1m), The Clothworker’s Foundation (£1m), Bank Workers Charity (£250k), Places for People (£250k), Drapers’ Company (£250k) and Alternative Bank Switzerland (£250k), which become new shareholders in Charity Bank, while Big Society Capital has approved an additional £1m.
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These follow investments from Barrow Cadbury Trust (£500k) and The Samworth Foundation (£500k) in March 2021, and Esmée Fairbairn Foundation (£230k) in late 2020.
The Bank Workers Charity is the first occupational benevolent fund to become a Shareholder in Charity Bank, while Places for People is the first housing association to invest in Charity Bank. Alternative Bank Switzerland (ABS) becomes Charity Bank’s first shareholder from outside the UK. Both ABS and Charity Bank are members of the Global Alliance of Banking on Values, an international network of independent banks that uses finance to deliver sustainable economic, social and environmental development.
Ed Siegel, Chief Executive, Charity Bank, said:
“Having such a diverse group of impact investors joining as shareholders in Charity Bank is a positive reflection of our success in reaching impact-driven organisations in the UK with specialist financing and support. With this additional investment, we will be able to expand and broaden our support, helping more charities and social enterprises access the funding they need to sustain and grow their services.”
“UK charities and social enterprises are responding to an array of urgent social issues, but following an extended period of public budget austerity, many have struggled to secure sufficient funding. The effects of the Coronavirus pandemic have only made this situation worse. In the midst of the Covid-19 crisis, when many lenders moved to the sidelines, Charity Bank approved a record level of new loans. The new equity investments we have secured will enable us to continue to grow our lending and to offer the bespoke financing solutions that will be needed by many organisations as they rebound from the effects of the pandemic.”
Michael Field, Chair of the Finance & Investment Committee, The Bank Workers Charity, said:
“We see social investment as complementary to the range of services that we provide to our clients, and a highly effective way of expanding our reach and maximising the impact of our resources. We were very keen to support the important work that Charity Bank does across the social sector. The impact of the coronavirus pandemic has been devastating, and we are proud to see our investment go directly towards assisting the communities and people who are most in need.”
Also commenting, Marcus Hulme, Director of Places Impact, Places for People, said:
“Our group vision is to create places that work for everyone so working with Charity Bank, who share similar values to our own, gives us the opportunity to enable more charities and social enterprises to access additional capital to make a difference to communities across the UK.”
About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.