How it works
Councils have long history of raising finance from ordinary people. Our council investments have reinvented this approach, and made it relevant for the 21st century. They combine the low risk of investing in your local council (rather than backing a project or company), with the real impact of projects you can see being delivered in your local community or communities across the UK.
A new choice of low-risk investment for your portfolio
Experienced investors know that a sensible portfolio should have a balance of low and high-risk investments to suit their own financial needs. Traditionally, low-risk investments have included things like National Savings and Government bonds (Gilts). Money invested in this way funds national government priorities — everything from hospitals to nuclear submarines.
Our council investments provide a similar low-risk way to fund local government projects, knowing your money is making a difference in communities across the country. And because you get regular payments across the term, they can provide a useful income generating element of your portfolio.
Lending to councils is a low-risk option
All investments carry risk. But the risks of lending to councils are very different from those of investing in companies. Government legislation requires that councils maintain a balanced budget to stay financially viable. Although councils can occasionally find themselves in situations where their income is less than their outgoings, they are legally obliged to bring this back into balance. This means that no UK council has ever failed to paid back an ordinary loan.
More choice to build your portfolio
We have offered council investments since 2020, and have launched investments with councils of all political colours from across the country. We have a growing pipeline of councils who want to join them, and many of our existing councils want to launch more investments to fund more of the their environmental programmes. But you don’t have to worry about missing the boat. All of our council investments can be traded on our marketplace, which means that you can buy established investments from other investors if you want to broaden your portfolio.
Tax-free investing with an Innovative Finance ISA (IFISA)
Our council investments are structured as peer to peer loans and are eligible to be held in an Innovative Finance ISA, which means you can get tax-free returns on investments up to £20,000 a year. (Our first two council investments, launched in 2020 with West Berkshire and Warrington Councils, are not currently ISA eligible.)