Bagnall Energy Limited, a UK renewable energy generation and storage company, is launching a crowdfunding campaign to raise a maximum of £10 million through a new ‘Regular Access’ Bond provided by crowdfunding platform, Downing Crowd.
Bagnall Energy has contributed over £100 million to UK renewable energy developments since the firm was launched in 2013. The business currently has a portfolio of over 30 operational projects extending right across the UK renewable energy sector, from solar to hydro power.
Bagnall has been developing a particular specialism in reserve power infrastructure for the renewable energy sector, an area which it expects to grow in the coming years as more energy suppliers look to move away from fossil fuels. The firm currently has net assets of £95million.
Downing Crowd is an FCA-authorised platform offering access to Crowd Bonds, a type of investment-based crowdfunding. It is part of experienced London-based investment manager Downing LLP, which has funded over 100 renewable energy projects totalling more than £400 million since 2010 including solar power, onshore wind and biomass.
The Bond itself is one of the first of its kind in the crowdfunding market designed to offer crowdfunding investors attractive returns, without having to lock away their money for a fixed period of time.
Instead investors can access their money with sufficient notice (subject to liquidity) during the maximum 10-year term of the bond. The Bond works by issuing a fixed funding target, known as a ‘Tranche’ or ‘portion’ of the total £10 million bond, to investors which are intended to be on a regular basis, although there is no obligation for investors in the Regular Access Bond to participate in every fundraise. The initial interest rate for the bond is 3% p.a. Interest rates will be fixed for each Tranche.
Downing LLP Partner and Head of Crowdfunding, Julia Groves, said: “The renewable energy sector presents a really interesting investment opportunity. Income streams from energy generation are well established, which can provide our investors with predictable revenue, while the proven technologies used by Bagnall’s projects allow energy production to be forecast with a good level of accuracy. Bagnall’s work across a wide range of energy sectors also reassures us that the company is not overly reliant or exposed to one set of government subsidies.”
“Our new Regular Access Bond fills a neglected gap in the savings and investment market, particularly given the flexibility to hold the Bond in an Innovative Finance ISA (IFISA) which shelters it from tax too. We would never suggest that this type of Bond is directly comparable with cash savings. But it could prove an attractive option for those ‘extra pots of money’ that people often start building to meet certain types of financial goals, if investors are willing to take on additional risk.”
