Agricultural challenger bank Oxbury has been granted a UK banking licence and embarked on a new funding round.
The newly authorised bank - led by CEO and co-founder James Farrar, who also set up ClearBank in 2015 - plans to launch to the market later in 2020 after a short pilot period.
Oxbury's USP is to provide farmers with seasonal cashflow services, smoothing out the dips and uplifts in income before and after harvests. Savings accounts for businesses and the general public will round out the product suite.
Says Farrar: "Given that today’s farmer combines the roles of small business owner, entrepreneur, agronomist, vet, inventor and environmental manager, Oxbury’s vision is to be a banking provider that understands these priorities and focusses all of its attention on farmers’ unique business needs.”
Currently backed by crop protection group Hutchinsons and grain supplier Frontier Agriculture, the bank is also seeking new "like-minded" investors for its third round of funding.
Oxbury’s managing director and co-founder, Nick Evans, says: “Oxbury is looking forward to bringing to market dynamic products that will showcase the new bank as a champion of the financial needs of farmers and those wanting to support agriculture’s ongoing success and the transition to a low-carbon economy.”