Oxbury Bank

Based in the UK, Oxbury Bank is a digital bank that focuses on the British agriculture sector. It offers lending products as well as savings accounts through a web portal and mobile app. The bank began lending in March 2021 and is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA).

Oxbury offers four lending products: 1) Farm loans—that support long-term financial requirements and are tailored for farm needs including carbon reduction projects, renewable energy, and farm infrastructure.; 2) Farm credit—to fund inputs/supplies required for farming; 3) Flexi credit—a revolving credit facility to finance farm invoices; and 4) New Gen –that support new farmers aged between 18 to 40 years old by providing funding and advice.

In addition, the bank also offers savings accounts to individuals, businesses, and farms, with the accounts being covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), up to GBP 85,000 per person.

The bank acquired low-code development platform provider Naqoda in March 2022 for an undisclosed amount. Oxbury had collaborated with Naqoda since 2018, to build its bespoke banking platform–Oxbury Earth. The acquisition provides Oxbury with complete discretion over the development of its banking platform, and it aimed to leverage Naqoda to create an additional revenue stream by becoming a SaaS provider for the wider fintech and banking industry in the UK and globally.

Key customers and partnerships

Oxbury has partnered with fintech infrastructure provider ClearBank to use the latter’s cloud-based banking-as-a-service (BaaS) solutions for payment and clearance functions. Through the partnership, it gained full access to the UK payment schemes.

Funding and financials

The bank secured GBP 25 million (~USD 29 million) in Tier-2 capital funding from British Business Investments–a subsidiary of British Business Bank (BSB) in August 2022. In addition, it received GBP 100 million (~USD 120 million) through an ENABLE Guarantee transaction from the BSB in November 2023. The new funds were to be used to originate new loans of ~GBP 45 million (~USD 55 million).

As of November 2023, Oxbury had distributed over GBP 750 million in loans and accrued savings exceeding GBP 1 billion. It aimed to lend GBP 1 billion across the farming and food supply chain by 2024.

Key competitors: None comparable (Oxbury is the only startup that specializes in providing banking services to the agro-sector in the UK)