Post by stevefindlay on Apr 17, 2020 7:44:27 GMT
Background
For those following on the BM board, you'll know we are 70% through the wind-down of the loan book (in line with expectations), but anticipate the remainder may be more protracted due to borrower delays arising from COVID19.
As our workload fluctuates, we've spent our spare time setting up a not-for-profit: My Carbon Plan (www.mycarbonplan.org).
The purpose of the not-for-profit is to enable people and companies to Measure, Reduce and Offset their carbon footprint, to help the UK reach net-zero. Our primary offsetting activity is planting trees in the UK, on land that we acquire.
The Loan
We have identified a 20-acre site in the Home Counties for £205,000. We would like to explore appetite among P2P lenders/investors to help fund this acquisition, with a 2-year, 3% loan. LTV will be high at c.90% as we will be putting in £20-40k of our private funds to support the acquisition.
The repayment will come from a few sources, in no particular order:
(1) Donor funds - we are in discussions with companies that are looking to offset their carbon footprint annually and/or sponsor the woodland - this will likely take a couple of years to attract sufficient donors alone, but early discussions are encouraging.
(2) Grants from government bodies which are available as planting commences.
(3) Grants and funding from local council - we are engaged with the District Council, to seek grant to enable the local public to enjoy the woodland we create.
(4) Selling off c.3 acres of land which is adjacent to existing housing at a premium to the average initial purchase price per acre - we have a report from a land buyer which sets out the opportunity.
(5) Re-finance 50-70% with a lender.
Given the risk/return, this isn't for hard-nosed investors; it is for those looking to support an activity with positive externalities.
Interested?
This is not a formal invitation to invest. We are merely trying to gauge indicative interest (I'm not sure if a not-for-profit has raised a P2P loan before?!) - please only reply if you are a sufficiently qualified and eligible investor type (e.g. HNW / Sophisticated). If there is sufficient interest, we will discuss with an appropriately regulated P2P platform to host the opportunity, and take from there...
If you think you would like to support, or would like to discuss, please can you send me a PM, or comment in the thread below. You are not making a commitment at this stage.
Many thanks -
Steve (Findlay)
For those following on the BM board, you'll know we are 70% through the wind-down of the loan book (in line with expectations), but anticipate the remainder may be more protracted due to borrower delays arising from COVID19.
As our workload fluctuates, we've spent our spare time setting up a not-for-profit: My Carbon Plan (www.mycarbonplan.org).
The purpose of the not-for-profit is to enable people and companies to Measure, Reduce and Offset their carbon footprint, to help the UK reach net-zero. Our primary offsetting activity is planting trees in the UK, on land that we acquire.
The Loan
We have identified a 20-acre site in the Home Counties for £205,000. We would like to explore appetite among P2P lenders/investors to help fund this acquisition, with a 2-year, 3% loan. LTV will be high at c.90% as we will be putting in £20-40k of our private funds to support the acquisition.
The repayment will come from a few sources, in no particular order:
(1) Donor funds - we are in discussions with companies that are looking to offset their carbon footprint annually and/or sponsor the woodland - this will likely take a couple of years to attract sufficient donors alone, but early discussions are encouraging.
(2) Grants from government bodies which are available as planting commences.
(3) Grants and funding from local council - we are engaged with the District Council, to seek grant to enable the local public to enjoy the woodland we create.
(4) Selling off c.3 acres of land which is adjacent to existing housing at a premium to the average initial purchase price per acre - we have a report from a land buyer which sets out the opportunity.
(5) Re-finance 50-70% with a lender.
Given the risk/return, this isn't for hard-nosed investors; it is for those looking to support an activity with positive externalities.
Interested?
This is not a formal invitation to invest. We are merely trying to gauge indicative interest (I'm not sure if a not-for-profit has raised a P2P loan before?!) - please only reply if you are a sufficiently qualified and eligible investor type (e.g. HNW / Sophisticated). If there is sufficient interest, we will discuss with an appropriately regulated P2P platform to host the opportunity, and take from there...
If you think you would like to support, or would like to discuss, please can you send me a PM, or comment in the thread below. You are not making a commitment at this stage.
Many thanks -
Steve (Findlay)
