Investors Eager to Co-own Triodos Bank
Europe’s leading sustainable bank has raised over £45 million from thousands of European investors
Triodos Bank’s international issue of depository receipts for shares has closed, increasing its equity by over 50% and around £45 million (67 million euros), against a target of £20 million (30 million euros). The result smashed a target of £20 million (30 million euros), taking the bank’s equity to over £125 million (190 million euros) and suggesting sustainable banking is becoming an increasingly serious player on the European stage.
Investors, including a number of institutions such as Delta Lloyd and Rabobank, subscribed to the offer in the UK, The Netherlands, Belgium, Spain and Germany where Triodos Bank now operates. More than 5,000 investors took the chance to become co-owners of a bank that only lends to, or invests in, organisations that benefit people or the environment – from fair trade companies, to renewable energy and organic businesses.
The issue was launched to help support continuing growth. The Bank, and the funds under its management, have grown by 22% on average over the past five years. “People are starting to respond to daunting problems of climate change and a global economy that seems to penalise the poorer majority world, by choosing to invest in sustainable financial alternatives to the mainstream,” said Triodos Bank’s UK Managing Director, Charles Middleton, today. “Triodos Bank’s investors, and indeed our savers, recognise the power of their money to influence the world around them in a positive way. They take the long term view that their finances can make a difference.”
Money raised will be used to support further growth, so Triodos Bank can lend more money to more ethical organisations and to support the development of a new office in Germany.
“Share ownership is far too often reduced to an opportunistic and anonymous involvement in a stock exchange-quoted enterprise and its expected growth in share value,” says Triodos Bank’s Chief Executive, Peter Blom. “There’s rarely any interest in the enterprise itself. Triodos Bank’s shareholders think this is too limited a view of what share ownership is all about. Instead, they believe in balanced growth over the long term - a healthy balance between people, planet and profit now and in the future.”
Triodos Bank depository receipts are not listed on the stock exchange, but can be traded through the Bank itself. When it was established, Triodos chose to issue depository receipts for shares, rather than conventional ones, to guarantee its independence and mission.
Notes for Editors:
To arrange interviews or source supporting photography, please call James Niven at Triodos Bank on 0117 980 9721, or 07887 641 960 or email james.niven@triodos.co.uk.
Triodos Bank is an independent bank that advocates and embodies sustainable and transparent banking. Established in The Netherlands in 1980, it believes that rather than exploiting people and the environment for short-term financial gain, they can complement each other, creating wider, lasting benefits.
It has helped to pioneer successful tax incentive schemes for green, social and cultural projects. It has 125,000 customers and 4,000 loans to sustainable enterprises and projects. The bank has offices in the UK, The Netherlands, Belgium, and Spain, and an agency in Germany. It employs 350 people.
Triodos Bank depository receipts are not listed on the stock exchange, but can be traded through Triodos Bank itself. When the bank was established, it chose to issue depository receipts for shares, rather than conventional ones, to guarantee its independence and mission.
Triodos Bank N.V. has a full banking licence and is registered with The Nederlandsche Bank N.V. and The Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets.
Triodos Bank NV is regulated by the Financial Services Authority for the conduct of regulated activities in the UK. Registered Office: Brunel House, 11 The Promenade, Bristol BS8 3NN.
