More renewables for Totnes!

We have achieved over a QUARTER of a MILLION pounds in local investment… £258,000 to be precise.  Your investment (min £20, max £100,000) has kick-started our ready-to-go solar projects, bringing them into community ownership.  Thank you for making an ethical, secure, investment in community-scale, clean energy installations… co-owned with your friends and neighbours.  Millions have been raised by Community Energy groups across the UK – we have the power!

More good news – TRESOC has succeeded in meeting Charity Bank’s rigorous criteria and has received a “Heads of Terms” document for a loan of £356,000 based on two of the solar projects in our prospectus; 70+ Housing Association roofs and the purchase of the operating array on Hatchlands Farm barn.

Update on our Charity Bank loan application

Tresoc investors will know from our Prospectus that the Society is looking to raise £500,000 to £1,500,000 to fund a portfolio of hydro and solar projects. To date we have raised some £200,550, which is no small sum, but the income from this level of investment is not enough to cover our annual operating costs (admin, insurance, accountancy etc) even without paying directors.  However, we are in discussions with Charity Bank with regards to a loan facility that might allow us to fund our projects and establish Tresoc as a viable business. We are very pleased to be working with this specialist lender whose aims fit well with our own, and who offer flexible loans and support to social enterprises. Please see Charity Bank’s website for more details.

We have met the Bank’s representative and on 29th September submitted our application for a loan that we could draw down, as and when needed. The application process is expected to take 6 to 8 weeks. During this process the bank will be determining whether, and on what terms, a loan may be made to us, and the Board will look in detail at our finance projections to ensure that any loan terms we agree fit with our aims to be a sustainable, growing organisation, paying a return on our members’ investments.

Meanwhile, the Board, in consultation with members, has decided to keep the share offer open on the terms outlined in the Prospectus, until such time as we have a decision on the Charity Bank loan. If we are successful in our application, the full details of the implications of the loan, and what it will allow us to achieve, will then be communicated with our members.

All monies received through this share offer are held in a dedicated deposit account and will be repaid in full if we do not raise sufficient capital to establish Tresoc as a going concern. There is still time for old and new members to invest in Tresoc and now is the time to show your support for renewable energy in community ownership.

Please call us 01803 867431 or email admin@tresoc.co.uk if you would like to discuss this or any other aspect of Tresoc.

Loan Application Submitted to Charity Bank

A fantastic total of £230,570 has been raised to date and we are still open for further applications.  A heartfelt thank you to all our investors, old and new.  After careful analysis of our finance model, we are pleased to have submitted our application to Charity Bank for a loan facility to enable us to make up the shortfall to the minimum target for this share issue.

For a useful summary of Questions and Answers on the new loan and what it will mean for Tresoc, you can view minutes from an update meeting held by the team with its members on 22nd July, 2014.