Bristol-based Thrive Renewables, the firm that owns the wind turbines at Avonmouth, is seeking to raise £7.5m to invest in more sustainable energy projects around the country.
Thrive is already one of the UK’s most widely owned renewable energy companies, with a 5,700-strong community of shareholders and bond holders built up over the past 20 years. 
Its new 5% bond offers to raise the money to support the development and operation of renewable energy projects, including wind farms and solar generation, across the UK.
Thrive was originally part of Triodos, the ethical bank that has its UK headquarters in Bristol. It changed its name from Triodos Renewables to Thrive Renewables in March as part of a transition which made the company fully independent of Triodos, although the bank retains a major shareholding. It is also based at Triodos’ Bristol city centre HQ.
Thrive’s fundraising comes as research by Triodos Bank shows savvy investors are increasingly attracted to investing in the renewable energy sector, with 38% wanting to support renewable energy and 49% wanting to support energy efficiency.
In addition, it revealed that 47% believe companies trying to make a positive contribution to society and the environment are more likely to succeed in the long term
Thrive Renewables now has a portfolio of 15 operational renewable energy sites with two developments currently in progress.
The company has a proven track record in investing in projects that result in both financial and environmental benefit, mainly small-to-medium scale and sensitively sited that provide sustainable power to the UK grid.
Operational sites now generate enough green electricity to power 41,000 homes in the UK and the average shareholder will be saving around 12.8 tonnes of CO2 emissions. Its four turbines at Avonmouth, which started generating in 2013, produce enough electricity to power more than 5,000 homes a year.
The group’s last capital raise took under five weeks to reach its target amount and in 2015 Thrive Renewables reported a turnover of £15.2m and an operating profit of £5.1m.
Managing director Matthew Clayton said: “Thrive exists to connect individuals with sustainable energy, allowing our investors to contribute directly to change. We now want to further build on our proven track record in investing in projects that result in both environmental and financial returns for investors.
“This capital raise will enable us to continue to develop our portfolio and is part of our strategy to widen our investments, including opportunities in wind, solar, energy storage and demand side management solutions, all of which contribute to a cleaner, smarter energy system.
“Our intention is that the bond offer will represent an attractive proposition to established investors, as well as those new investors with an active interest in supporting sustainable energy developments.
“The right market conditions are in place now. Demand for electricity is increasing, technologies are proven, costs of renewables are falling, the weak pound makes local energy attractive, the Paris Agreement has set the green agenda for years to come and public opinion is on the side of renewables.
“We sense that people want their money to generate more than just financial returns, there is a lot of interest in positive investments and innovative finance solutions as borne out by recent research and we hope to be able to take advantage of this trend.”
There is a minimum investment of £5 online and £250 through a paper application. The first close is on December 9 and the final close is scheduled for February 27 next year.
Investors will be able to take advantage of the November 1 ISA rule change that will allow them to include this bond in their annual ISA allowance, through opening the new third ISA: the Innovative Finance ISA (IFISA).
The bond is also eligible to be held in a self-invested pension plan (SIPP). Holding the bond is an IFISA or a SIPP means that investors can get interest paid tax free. Alternatively, investors can hold the bond directly and receive interest after withholding of basic rate income tax.
The corporate finance team of Triodos Bank is acting as adviser to Thrive Renewables and promoter of the offer.
Abundance Investment, the regulated peer to peer investment platform, is acting as registrar and facilitator for the bonds and is the IFISA manager.
