£4m investment boost to fuel growth in new lending

Charity Bank, the loans and savings bank for positive social change, today announced £4m in new equity investments from six new investors as well as an approved investment from its existing shareholder, Big Society Capital.

By leveraging these investments with deposits, the bank will be able to make more than £32m in new loans to UK charities and social enterprises at a time when the social sector is in acute need of sustainable financing solutions.

The Garfield Weston Foundation (£1m investment), The Clothworker’s Foundation (£1m), Bank Workers Charity (£250k), Places for People (£250k), Drapers’ Company (£250k)1and Alternative Bank Switzerland (£250k) become new shareholders in Charity Bank, while Big Society Capital has approved an additional £1m. These follow investments from Barrow Cadbury Trust (£500k) and The Samworth Foundation (£500k) in March 2021, and Esmée Fairbairn Foundation (£230k) in late 2020.

These investments evidence the growing appetite amongst trusts, foundations and other impact first organisations to make social investments as an alternative to grant-making to meet their social impact objectives.

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.”