How can we help you?

General questions

As with any investment, investing in crowdfunding investments through Triodos does involve risk. But what are some the key risks involved?

You could lose all the money you invest - If the business you are investing in fails, there is a high risk that you will lose your money. Most start-up and early-stage businesses fail.
You are unlikely to get your money back quickly - Even if the business you invest in is successful, it will likely take several years to get your money back.
Don’t put all your eggs in one basket - Putting all your money into a single business or type of investment for example, is risky. Spreading your money across different investments makes you less dependent on any one to do well.
The value of your investment can be reduced - If your investment is shares, the percentage of the business that you own will decrease if the business issues more shares. This could mean that the value of your investment reduces, depending on how much the business grows. Most start-up businesses issue multiple rounds of shares.
You are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong - Protection from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), in relation to claims against failed regulated firms, does not cover poor investment performance. Try the FSCS investment protection checker here.

You can find our more information about the key risks involved on the Triodos Crowdfunding risks page.

Who can invest?

UK residents aged 18 or over, who are not tax residents in any other jurisdiction and are not classed as a US Person, may be eligible to invest.

A US Person is defined under US tax law and generally includes:

US citizens (including those holding dual nationality).
US residents (including Green Card holders).
Individuals born in the United States, even if they have since moved abroad (“accidental Americans”).
Individuals with at least one US parent, which may give them citizenship status.

High Net Worth Investor, or
Self-Certified Sophisticated Investor, or
Restricted Investor (confirming that you will invest less than 10% of your net assets in this type of investment), all as defined by the FCA’s Conduct of Business Sourcebook.

Prospective investors must also demonstrate that they understand the general risks of the investments on this platform. Organisations and institutions can also invest provided they can categorise themselves and demonstrate the same knowledge as above. You must not attempt to register online and you must not participate in any investment offers via our platform if you do not meet these criteria.

What will happen to any Crowdfunding investments held by a customer who has died?

Triodos Crowdfunding investments may be transferred to a new investment holder, who will need to open a Crowdfunding account if they do not already have one. It is sometimes possible to redeem the investments (have them paid out) instead of transferring them. This is ultimately at the discretion of the directors of the company that issued the investment. You can indicate on the Bereavement Notification Form(PDF) whether you would like the investments to be transferred or redeemed. If you select the option to transfer, we will be able to facilitate this once the beneficiary's platform account is open. The investments (and any cash in the Crowdfunding ‘wallet’) will be transferred into their name. If you select the option to redeem, we will contact the issuing company to request this. Once we have received a response, we will let you know if the redemption is possible or if the investments must be transferred.

What are “Other investments” in your portfolio?

Other investments are investments that have been made on through the platform where we are not the registrar of the offer.

This means that we will display details of your original investment, however records of capital repayments and interest payments made to these investments will not be recorded on the platform. For details of the registrar and where to find any relevant information, please refer to the Updates tab in the investment details.

What is Triodos’ role with the company and with investors after the offer is closed and the money has been raised?

We do not have an ongoing advisory role with the companies issuing investments after the capital raise is closed.

For debt offers we are appointed as registrar for the bonds. This is an administrative role with responsibility for maintaining the bond register, calculating capital repayments and interest due to bondholders and facilitation services in relation to the IFISA. The registrar function does not include representing bondholders’ interests.

For secured bonds, Triodos Corporate Officer Limited (a Triodos group entity) is often engaged as security trustee. Due to the number of investors and the transferability of the bonds the security trustee holds the security on behalf of the bondholders for the term of the Bond. The role of security trustee is also to notify each of the bondholders of any continuing event of default, consult with the bondholders to determine the action to be taken in relation to such default and, where appropriate, to take steps to enforce any security held.

What role does Triodos take if the company isn’t meeting obligations under the bond?

Generally, we do not have an ongoing advisory role after the capital is raised and so we will not have a contractual role in an event of a default or underperformance. As a matter of good practice, we liaise with the companies regularly and try to ensure bondholders are regularly updated and where new proposals are made, that options are clearly explained.

Where we are security trustee, we will have a role to represent bondholders in relation to the enforcement of security, for example if the company is in administration or liquidation.

How can I change my contact details?

If you want to update your contact details, you need to log in to your account and navigate to ‘Account’ menu from the top right corner of the page. You can change your contact details including the email and postal address online. If you want to change your mobile number please contact us directly by sending a message from your account or calling us on 0330 355 0355.

How can I close my crowdfunding account?

You can close your account if you don’t use it and if there are no active investments in your portfolio and no cash in the wallets. To close it you need to contact us by sending a message from your account or calling us on 0330 355 0355.

When will I start to earn interest?

You will start to earn interest on your investment when the bonds are issued, not from the point at which you made the investment. There is usually a minimum amount that must be raised for the bond issue to go ahead. This minimum raise will be indicated in the 'key terms' on the offer page and in the offer document. Bonds will be issued 14 days after the closing date to allow for the cooling off period to elapse.

What due diligence does Triodos perform on the organisations it raises finance for?

We perform thorough due diligence (in some cases over many months) on the clients we raise finance for. This includes – but is not limited to – the following:

• Know your customer checks – ensuring that the company, key members of the management team and its board are who they say they are.

• Financial due diligence – reviewing past financial statements and management accounts to analyse the historic financial performance of the company.

• Financial forecasts – ensuring that the company has prepared a robust financial model based on realistic underlying market, operating and financial assumptions and sensitivity analysis.

• Assessing the financial viability of the organisation using reasonable underlying assumptions over the term of the bond to ensure capital and interest payments can be met in a base case scenario.

• Management team and governance – meetings with the management team and board of directors or trustees, reviewing whether their governance structure appears appropriate for the organisation.

• Mission and impact – understanding the mission and ethos of the organisation to ensure that genuine social or environmental impact is created through its activities.

Triodos Bank does not provide financial advice to savers and investors. It is your responsibility to decide whether to invest or not, including carrying out relevant background research.

IFISA questions

Is the Triodos Innovative Finance ISA ‘flexible’?

Yes it is. This means that you may withdraw funds from your cash wallet and then replace that money within the same tax year without affecting your annual ISA allowance.

What is an Innovative Finance ISA (IFISA)?

The IFISA is a type of ISA that allows you to receive the interest you earn on eligible crowdfunded investments tax-free.

What is the ISA allowance?

The ISA allowance is the maximum amount you can invest across all types of ISAs in any one tax year. You can put your whole allowance into a particular type of ISA or you can split it between the different types of ISAs: Cash, Stocks & Shares, Lifetime and Innovative Finance.

The ISA allowance for the 2025/26 tax year is £20,000.

Can I have more than one ISA?

Yes, you can have an Innovative Finance ISA as well as a Cash, Stocks & Shares and Lifetime ISA. You must however stay within the total annual ISA allowance of £20,000

Can I transfer my Cash ISA or Stocks and Shares ISA to an Innovative Finance ISA?

Yes, you can transfer other types of ISAs to an Innovative Finance ISA provided you are transferring cash and not investments. If you hold a Stocks & Shares ISA and you wish to transfer it, your current provider will sell any investments you hold and transfer the cash proceeds.

You may transfer a combination of all or part of current and/or previous years' subscriptions, subject to the conditions of your old ISA manager.

Some ISA providers may not offer a partial transfer and there may be charges or costs, such as manager’s charges or lost interest so you should enquire with your current ISA manager.

Can I have more than one Innovative Finance ISA?

Yes you can. As of 6 April 2024 the new HMRC rules mean you are allowed to open and subscribe to any number of IF ISAs in the same tax year. And as before, your IFISAs may hold more than one investment.

Questions about Triodos Bank

How do I contact you?

You can send us a message by logging into your account and selecting 'Account' in the top menu, then 'Profile', 'Messages' and then 'Add a new message'.

You can also call us on 0330 355 0355.

What other services does Triodos Bank offer?

We offer a full range of banking services, for individuals and businesses. You can learn more on our main website here.

Who banks with Triodos Bank?

People and organisations who want to know their money is being used for positive impact, in a transparent way.

How is Triodos Bank transparent?

We’re committed to using the funds entrusted in ways that benefit people and planet. To demonstrate this commitment, we publish details of every organisation we finance on our website here.

How do I make a complaint?

We aim to provide a friendly, professional and accurate values driven service and actively encourage feedback about the service received from us. We are sorry if you are unhappy with your experience and want to know when things have gone wrong so that we have a chance to put things right. We will treat you fairly and reasonably.

Our complaints procedure is explained in full here

Tax relief questions

What is SEIS and EIS?

The Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) and Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) are tax reliefs designed to encourage investments in small unquoted companies carrying on a qualifying trade with a permanent establishment in the United Kingdom. Full, up to date information can be found on the HMRC website.

What are the benefits of SEIS and EIS?

Investors in SEIS/EIS qualifying companies can, depending on their individual circumstances and the company’s compliance with rules governing SEIS and EIS, enjoy some or all of the following tax advantages:

SEIS/EIS relief (currently 50% for SEIS and 30% for EIS of the amount of the investment) against income tax liability in the year of investment, subject to an ability to carry back relief to the immediately preceding year in certain circumstances.
Exemption from Capital Gains Tax (CGT) on the disposal of SEIS/EIS shares in SEIS/EIS Qualifying Companies after a three year holding period, provided that disqualifying events have not occurred.
Unlimited deferral of capital gains from the previous three years or the subsequent 12 months.
Income tax or CGT relief for a loss on disposal of EIS shares; and
Inheritance tax exemption after two years.

Full, up to date information can be found on the HMRC website.
You should always take your own tax advice before deciding whether to invest.