East London Bond now open for investment
23 December 2009
The East London Bond has opened for investment, with a cast of prominent supporters and over £1 million already pledged.
We are inviting our supporters to buy a secure five-year bond, administered by Citylife, and to receive the money back in full in five years time. In the meantime, your money will be put to good use, funding Bromley by Bow Centre and Community Links to create a long-term legacy in East London and create change for generations to come.
At a time when recession has squeezed the budgets of donors – but increased the need for funds to help those who are most vulnerable – the charitable bond mechanism provides an innovative solution. It allows individuals and companies to use their capital to support charity without even giving it away.
The Bond works like this: around 20 per cent of the money raised by the East London Bond will go immediately to charity. The other 80 per cent is loaned to a housing provider to develop affordable housing. After five years the housing provider repays the loan with interest, taking the fund back to its original 100 per cent level, and investors get all their money back.
The combination of a high-value yield for charity and security for the investor was one of the key factors that led Wates Group Ltd to make the first pledge of support for the East London Bond. Paul Drechsler, chairman and chief executive of Wates, explains:
“Wates is proud to have pledged £1 million in the East London Bond” says Paul. “We’re strongly committed to supporting the communities where we work and live and the Bond is an effective and high impact way for us to do that. As the first investor in the East London Bond our ambition is to inspire confidence in other potential investors and see many more companies follow our lead.”
The East London Bond is an investment in the future of East London.
Full details about the bond are available at http://www.eastlondonbond.org/
Or contact: Jane Mackelworth 020 8709 9757 janem@bbbc.org.uk
Rob Trimble 020 8709 9717 rob@bbbc.org.uk
