The UK’s only bank dedicated to food and farming, Oxbury, has secured £31m in funding and acquired tech partner Naqoda.
In a big few months for Oxbury Bank, the company has closed its third funding round at £31m, and acquired its strategic IT partner Naqoda.
The Series C funding round brings the company’s total capital to £48m, having previously raised £5m and £12m in Series A and B respectively.
The latest round included investment from food and agtech investor Grosvenor, fintech and technology investor Hambro Perks and founder investors Hutchinsons and Frontier Agriculture.
The acquisition of Naqoda, which the company has been working with since 2018, to co-develop a bespoke banking platform, marks the completion of the full build-out of the fintech platform Oxbury Earth.
Naqoda emerged from stealth as a new core banking challenger with Oxbury as its first client last year, and has now been fully acquired.
“We are very proud of Oxbury’s strong first year, supporting Britain’s farmers and the rural economy and of their support for us,” Oxbury Bank CEO and co-founder, James Farrar, said.
“Our performance since launch has really highlighted the depth of demand for our practical, engaged customer approach to backing the crucial farming and food production sector, as they face-up to the challenges of climate change and delivering security of food supply whilst building a modern, sustainable industry,” he added.
Since launching in February 2021, Oxbury has supported British farmers with over £150m in completed loan facilities, and has more than £250m in additional committed lending offers.
As a result, the bank expects to breakeven in Q4 2022, and after a successful first full year of lending, it now aims to lend £1bn across the farming and food supply chain by 2024.
“As the only UK bank 100 per cent dedicated to serving farmers, we remain sharply aligned to the challenges facing our customers,” Farrar said.
“We will continue to develop and invest in our market-defining tech-driven products and redouble our efforts to be the sustainable lender of choice for British farmers.”