Oxbury Bank completes Series C funding round ahead of launch

By Megha Bhattacharya

UK-based agricultural bank Oxbury Bank has confirmed its launch this month with offerings including improved lending services for farms, as well as enabling retail savers to support British farming and back innovative climate change projects. The Bank has also secured £15 million in new investment in a Series C funding round, led by Wheatsheaf Group. The round also saw the participation of the Bank’s founding shareholders including agricultural distributors Frontier Agriculture and Hutchinson Group. The investment brings the total amount raised to £30 million.

James Farrar, Oxbury Bank CEO, said, “We’re delighted to have secured further investor support for Oxbury and our long-term vision to transform finance for British farmers.

“We’re launching Oxbury at a time of critical importance to UK agriculture. Oxbury is the only UK based bank that has its thinking, expertise and empathy exclusively focussed on the agricultural market and the needs of those farmers, as well as offering British savers the opportunity to support the cornerstone sector of the UK economy and the transition to a low-carbon future.”

Oxbury Bank, which received its banking license in January 2020, will offer products such as Oxbury Farm Credit which aims to provide flexibility to farms in short-term finance management. It will also offer a carbon-offset savings account – Oxbury Forest Saver. its savings range is available to both farm business and individual retail customers and will include the carbon-offset savings account.

Anthony James, Executive Director, Wheatsheaf Group, said, “UK farmers need the support of a lender that understands farming challenges and opportunities and that can move quickly to support them. Our investment aims to strengthen Oxbury’s ability to support UK agriculture, helping British farms manage their finances more efficiently and effectively, helping them become more productive and sustainable.”