British Business Bank increases ENABLE Guarantee transaction with Oxbury Bank to £300m
The British Business Bank has agreed a further £100m increase to its existing ENABLE Guarantee transaction with leading fintech Oxbury Bank, a UK bank with a singular focus on farmers, food production and the rural economy.
This second increase brings the British Business Bank’s total transaction to £300m and will help provide Oxbury with £150m of additional lending capacity. The transaction continues to offer a pricing discount to Oxbury to promote additional lending that meets certain sustainability metrics. As at December 2024, around 14% of the portfolio met the criteria for this pricing discount.
Chester-based Oxbury launched as a fully regulated bank in February 2021, offering a range of flexible lending and asset finance solutions tailored to the specific needs of farm businesses.
Oxbury combines its own proprietary digital banking platform – Oxbury Earth – with a team of dedicated relationship managers providing a wealth of agricultural experience and banking advice for clients.
In less than three years, Oxbury Bank has exceeded £1.1bn of drawn lending. In addition, it has attracted £2.3bn in savings deposits from farm businesses and consumers wanting to support the rural economy, reaching profitability in 2023. The bank will continue to support the sector with a further significant of lending in 2025.
The Chester-based bank is backed by institutional agriculture and agtech investors, as well as other stakeholders in the sector. In total Oxbury has raised in excess of £162m.
Michael Strevens, managing director, Structured FI Solutions, British Business Bank said:“Increasing this transaction by a further £100m demonstrates our commitment to supporting smaller businesses across the rural economy. We are delighted to see 14% of the portfolio meets our sustainability metrics and look forward to seeing that percentage grow. We are excited to see the further growth that this partnership can provide to the sector in 2025 and beyond.”
James Farrar, co-founder and CEO of Oxbury Bank, said: “We are thrilled to expand our partnership with the British Business Bank to increase lending to SMEs within the farming and food sectors. Once fully utilised, the full £300m ENABLE Guarantee will support £150m in extra SME lending, further enhancing Oxbury’s ability to positively impact farming and the rural economy. This funding also reflects our commitment to sustainability in the sector by 2025.”