Great Western Credit Union closes Bond Offer with more than £1.4m

The South West’s largest credit union has announced the close of their first-ever Bond Offer raise.

Great Western Credit Union (GWCU) amassed more than £1.4m from 215 investors, surpassing the initial target of £800,000 by 76 per cent since it launched in April.

Delivered via the Ethex investment platform, the successful raise aimed to make purpose-driven finance more accessible across the South West.

It has received UK-wide backing, showing the increased need for ethical, affordable and fair finance amid the cost-of-living crisis.

As the biggest credit union in the region, with more than 18,000 members, funding will allow GWCU to increase their membership and services.

The raise saw a forecasted 6.5 per cent return for investors. Fair4All Finance, a not-for-profit organisation aiming to make the financial services sector fairer for everyone, provided pound-for-pound match funding up to £1m.

With investment in place, GWCU’s focus now turns to growth.

Plans include building the employer partnership scheme Money@Work, increasing the number of employees who can access its service directly from their payroll, which currently stands at 42,000 employees across 38 organisations.

The investment will also allow them to continue to develop their digital platform, which launched in 2020, with plans to upgrade capabilities and offer face-to-face services.

James Berry, CEO of Great Western Credit Union, said: “We have been overwhelmed with the support we have received since we launched the Bond Offer campaign in April.

“The credit union has continued to go from strength to strength and it’s heartening to have gained recognition from across the UK.

“This is a clear reflection of the increased need for alternative and affordable finance and we will now be able to further support tens of thousands more people across our region and to help revolutionise the way ethical services are accessed.”

Holly Piper, Investment Director at Fair4All Finance, added: “We are really proud to support Great Western Credit Union as they expand access to affordable loans and other services to people across the South West, and we are thrilled with how successful this bond offer raise has been – the first major raise of its kind by a credit union.

“We hope that this encourages investors and others to consider supporting credit unions and other community finance organisations in this way.”

Earlier this month, the credit union won highly commended in the Social Investment Award category at the Pioneers Post Natwest SE100 Awards for their Bond Offer raise.

The award, which celebrates groundbreaking or innovative deals, programmes or funds in social/impact investment, recognised GWCU’s entrance into the impact investment space.

In addition, GWCU was also named one of the UK’s top 100 social enterprises as part of Natwest’s SE100 Index.

Main photo: Jon Craig 

Read next:

• Great Western Credit Union smashes bond offer target in just five weeks
• Great Western Credit Union launches bond offer
• Great Western Credit Union joins the Better Business Network

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