Oxbury is the latest UK challenger bank looking to serve an overlooked market niche - providing business financing to farmers in post-Brexit Britain.
Staffed by a seasoned-group of industry professionals, the Chester-based firm is currently applying for a banking licence with UK regulators. Oxbury's USP is to provide farmers with seasonal cashflow services, smoothing out the dips and uplifts in income before and after harvests.
Speaking to The Times, CEO and co-founder James Farrar, who also set up ClearBank in 2015, says: “Oxbury provides farmers with the specialised lending they need to run their farms and offers savings accounts to any individual or business that want to back British farmers and UK agriculture.”
With restrictions on British exports and uncertainties about immigrant labour having a potentially devastating effect on the farming community, Oxbury believes it is entering a market crying out for a tailored banking service.
Farrar and fellow co-founder Nick Evans have secured the backing of crop protection group Hutchinsons and grain supplier Frontier Agriculture as investors.
The Bank's board of directors include ex-head of business banking at HSBC Huw Morgan and former Bank of England adviser Tim Fitzpatrick.