Charity Greenham Trust Secures £25m Landmark Funding via Private Placement, arranged by JCRA

Greenham Trust, a Berkshire-based charity that provides grants in the local area, today announces that it has raised £25m through a 25-year secured private placement with a single investor, Aberdeen Standard (ASI). JCRA, the independent financial risk advisory firm, arranged the deal on behalf of the Trust.

Founded in 1997, Greenham Trust uses income generated from its asset portfolio to make charitable grants to organisations in West Berkshire and North Hampshire. To date, it has provided over £40m to a variety of causes and across almost 3,000 separate charitable organisations. In growing revenues from under £0.5m per annum in 1997 to over £5.3m in 2018, Greenham Trust has built a sustainable platform for giving, both through direct grants, matched funding, and its online platform – The Good Exchange.

The deal demonstrates that specialist charities can access the capital markets in an efficient manner. By identifying pools of demand where a charities’ unique business model fits investor needs, offering diversification and Socially Responsible Investment (SRI), charitable trusts can fund at a low cost that maximises the return on charitable assets.

Proceeds of the Trust’s private placement will help fund the development of five new commercial properties on the Greenham business park site, as well as repaying existing bank loans.

The deal was structured with a 19-year average life, broadly matching the life of the underlying leases.

Commenting on the deal, Chris Boulton, Chief Executive of Greenham Trust and Greenham Business Park, said: “We are excited to have completed our inaugural private placement. This will enable the Trust to deliver an extensive development programme to accommodate both existing and new occupiers at Greenham Business Park. The aim is to create further charitable funds to distribute to the communities we support. JCRA were pivotal in advising the Trust on this transaction.”

Adrian Bell, Director at JCRA, added: “We are delighted to arrange this private placement for Greenham. It provides the Charity with long-dated, low-cost funding, which allows it to embark on the next stage of its development.”

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