Bristol-based sustainable bank Triodos has become the first in the UK to launch its own crowdfunding platform.
The platform, which went live at the weekend, offers a range of crowdfunding opportunities enabling people to invest directly in equity or bonds issued by organisations delivering positive social and environmental impacts. 
The bonds are eligible to be held in its Innovative Finance ISA, allowing investors to receive the interest they earn on these investments tax-free.
Savers can invest from £500 – some offers will have lower investment minimums – in established charities or businesses that have been extensively screened by Triodos for social and environmental impact, the viability of their business model and the credibility of the management team.
Triodos Bank UK managing director Bevis Watts, pictured, said: “Everyday investors can make a positive choice to shape the world they want to live in. In that sense money can be a hugely powerful form of democracy if invested directly into renewable energy, social housing, charities or social enterprises. 
“Social investment needs to be more accessible to UK investors, who increasingly recognise the power of money to create change.
“We’ve been crowdfunding since before it became a well-known term. With the new platform we’re recognising the huge potential of crowdfunding and responding to demand for Innovative Finance ISAs. Investors are looking for opportunities that allow them to support progressive companies, social enterprises and charities making a positive impact, while also receiving good long-term returns.”
The platform has been launched with three bond offers, with interest rates ranging from 5% – 7%. The Innovative Finance ISA is available within the current £20,000 personal allowance, alongside cash and stocks and shares ISAs.
The bonds are:
- Mendip Renewables. It aims to raise £1.8m by March 31 to take a 5MW operational solar farm in Somerset into community ownership. Investors can earn 5% interest per year, increasing in line with the annual retail price index, repayable over 17 years. An estimated £1.4m of profit will be contributed to a community benefit scheme over the life of the project.
- Thera Trust. A charitable group of companies providing care and housing for people with complex learning disabilities, it is aiming to raise £5m to provide 14 new homes. Investors will earn 5.5% interest per year over a six-year term.
- Rendesco. It is raising £5.5m to develop green energy from ground source heat pumps and is paying 7% interest per year over a seven-year term. It aims to develop 100 sites with a focus on retirement homes and providing low-carbon heating to keep the elderly warm.
Triodos Bank has a track record in raising finance for social and environmental organisations and in the past 15 years has raised more than £130m to fund 50-plus impact projects.
