Loans for projects that rebuild natural infrastructure.
Restoring a river, a wetland, a peat bog or a hillside of woodland is infrastructure work. It protects homes, farms and water supplies, and the people who benefit now pay for it, over years. We lend against that income so the work can start now.
Who can borrow
- Farmers and landowners, whether you own or rent
- Farmer clusters and landscape partnerships
- Community groups and community land organisations
- Social enterprises and charities working on land or water
- Marine and coastal businesses, from shellfish reefs to seaweed farms
What we lend for
Projects where nature does a job someone will pay for: wetlands that hold floods for a town or a railway, reed beds that clean a water company's supply, habitat that lets homes be built, peat and woodland that store carbon for businesses, soil that holds water for the farm and the food chain, and reefs that shelter offshore turbines. If your project restores nature and someone has agreed to pay for the result, we want to hear about it.
Is your project a fit?
Tick what is true today and tell us how much you need. It takes a minute, and it tells us where to start.
What our loans look like
- From £25,001 to £375,000, and higher in some situations.
- Terms of up to five years, matched to when the project's income arrives.
- Fixed interest, agreed at the start.
- Every cost set out in your offer before you sign.
- Unsecured, or secured only on the units, credits or payments the project produces.
- Repayments built around the project's income, usually one repayment at the end of the loan.
How it works
- 1
Enquiry
Tell us about the project in a short form.
- 2
Conversation
We talk through the plan, the income and the timing. If it is not ready, we say so and point you to people who can help.
- 3
Application
You send us the project plan, the income evidence and your accounts.
- 4
Decision
Our credit committee decides. We tell you the answer either way, and the reasons.
- 5
Offer and drawdown
Terms set out in full.
What we will ask you for
The project plan and what it will deliver. Evidence of the income, such as contracts or agreements. Your recent accounts, or a forecast if the enterprise is new. Details of the land and who controls it.
Not ready to borrow yet?
Most projects are not ready when we first speak. We will point you to the advisers and grant programmes that can get a project to the point where a loan makes sense.
Questions
What income do you lend against?
Payments for the work restored nature does, such as holding floods, cleaning water, storing carbon or keeping soil on the land. Water companies, councils, developers, wind farm operators and other businesses pay for it under contract, much as they would pay for pipes, sea walls or flood barriers, and we lend against that income.
Do I need to own the land?
No. You need the right to carry out the work and to receive the income.
Will you take a charge over my farm?
No.
What if the income arrives late?
We build repayments around the project's income, usually as one repayment at the end of the loan. If something changes, we would rather hear early.
Can a cluster borrow on behalf of its members?
Yes, through the cluster's own legal entity.
Do you fund grants or advice?
No, we only lend, but we can point you to both.