CURRENT Investor members
Information for current shareholders
On this page you’ll find information and FAQs for existing investments. If your query isn’t answered, please email members@lowcarbonhub.org.
For full details of your investment, please refer to the Rules of the Low Carbon Hub IPS and the Share Offer document for your particular investment.
You can view your existing investments and make edits to your personal details through our investor portal. Watch the video below to find out how to get started.
Have any of your details changed?
- Changing bank account details: please download and fill in this Payment Instruction Form and return to us by email at members@lowcarbonhub.org.
- Nominate your shares on death: fill in this Nomination of Shares on Death Form to nominate a person to transfer your shares to on your death, and return to us by email at members@lowcarbonhub.org.
If you need to change your contact details (name, address, email etc) or have any further queries, please email us at members@lowcarbonhub.org
Investor resource and support centre
Below you’ll find questions commonly asked by existing Investor Members. If you have a question not covered here or need to make a complaint, please contact members@lowcarbonhub.org.
View current and previous reports
You can view current and past reports such as Social Impact Reports, Annual Performance Summaries, as well as programme reports. Click here to read them.
View previous share offers
To view our previous Share Offers, and find information on interest payment and financial returns, please go to our Previous Offers page.
Some of my personal details have changed – what do I do?
If you have any changes to your personal details, including change of name, address, or email, then contact us at members@lowcarbonhub.org informing us of the change. Or call us on 01865 246099. If you change your bank details, please fill in this Payment Instruction Form and return it to us.
What if I lose my share certificate?
If you lose your share certificate, contact us at members@lowcarbonhub.org and request a replacement. There may be a charge for a reissue.
My child is 16 years old, can I transfer shares into their name?
Yes, once children are 16 years old shares can be transferred into their name. However, this can only occur if the shares were originally purchased to be held on behalf of the child.
Please contact us when the child turns 16. We will send a stock transfer form for you to complete and return with the original share certificate.
When we receive this, the shares will be transferred into the child’s name and a new share certificate issued. We will then send out a payment information form to the new shareholder to confirm the bank details for where the interest should paid into. This will need to be completed even if the bank account details are the ones you have been using to date.
All completed forms can be scanned in and sent by email to members@lowcarbonhub.org. Or alternatively they can be posted to us for the attention of the Company Secretary.
Can I withdraw my shares?
Investors are encouraged to view their investment as a long-term commitment to supporting community energy
Investors in Solar 2014, Solar 2016, and Sandford hydro will slowly have their capital returned to them over the lifetime of the projects.
Investors in the Community Energy Fund can ask to withdraw equity after the fourth anniversary of their investment, up to a maximum of £20,000 in any one year. There is an annual withdrawal request cycle, and we will email all eligible investors once a year.
In exceptional circumstances, and when funds allow, the Directors may consider requests for the immediate return of capital for reasons of personal hardship – This could include:
a) Critical illness or death (affecting the investor or their immediate family)
b) Redundancy or loss of employment by the investor or their immediate family that results in a significant change in household income
c) Any other significant, unpredictable changes in circumstances, considered on a case-by-case basis.
If you would like to request to withdraw your shares, please contact members@lowcarbonhub.org.
Please refer to The Low Carbon Hub IPS Limited Rules for more information on withdrawing shares.
Can I sell or transfer my shares?
No, a member cannot sell or transfer any of their Class ‘A’ Shares to any other person, including family members. The only exception to this is if the shares were originally bought on behalf of a child. In this case, you can transfer the shares to the child when they turn 16 [see question below].
What happens to my shares if I die?
You can complete a nomination of shares form, to nominate a recipient for the value of the shares in the event of your death. This is the simplest way to ensure your shares will be transferred in line with your wishes.
If a member dies and a form hasn’t been completed, the executor of their estate will need to contact the Low Carbon Hub to arrange the transfer of the shares to a nominated person as agreed by the executor.
We always suggest that investors seek external advice on their estate planning. If you’d like more information, please contact us on members@lowcarbonhub.org.
How do I know which share portfolio I have invested in?
Refer to the share certificate that was issued to you on purchase of your shares and the accompanying documentation for further information on your share portfolio. Or contact us at members@lowcarbonhub.org and we can confirm your shareholdings.
What’s the difference between ‘A’ and ‘B’ class shares?
The Low Carbon Hub IPS has a number of existing Members, the vast majority of which hold withdrawable ‘A’ Class shares. There are also ten pioneer investors who between them hold £150,000 of ‘B’ Class ‘transferable’ shares. Their investment qualified for SEIS, entitling them to tax relief of 50%. Their investment was offered with a target rate of return of 3%. This has now been aligned to the terms set out in 2014 Share Offer, and so payments to these investors are made on the same basis as Solar 2014 investors.
If you are a ‘B’ class shareholder and have questions about your investment, please do get in touch with us at members@lowcarbonhub.org.
How do I find out how my investment is doing?
We will send you an annual performance summary. You can see these and more information here.
- Review our annual accounts to get a sense of the overall financial performance of the Low Carbon Hub IPS.
- View our Social Impact Report
- The People’s Power Station is another great way of seeing how our specific installations are performing.
How is my data being held?
Bank account information is only by the Low Carbon Hub. We also hold other information including name, address, and email address.
We will use this to communicate important information about your investment, keep you up-to-date on the performance of your investment and invite you to AGMs. You can also subscribe to the Low Carbon Hub newsletter which will keep you up-to-date on the work of the Low Carbon Hub including new share offer opportunities, project development, community benefit and more. You can opt out of this email at any time.
We will not sell, rent, or lend your data to other organisations. We have updated our data protection policies in line with new GDPR legislation introduced in May 2018.
The Online Investors Portal does not recognise my email address?
To set your password you need to enter the email address we have on file for you. If you do not remember which email address you gave us, or if the portal does not recognise your email, please contact us on members@lowcarbonhub.org or by phone on 01865 546452.
The Online Investors Portal doesn’t recognise my username
Your username for the portal is not your email address and is given to you on the page where you set your password. If you did not take note of your username, you can either follow the instructions again to reset your password or contact us at members@lowcarbonhub.org.
How do I save and/or print my interest statement information?
On the page displaying your statement information, go to the menu for your internet browser and select print. When the print screen appears, select “Save as PDF” under the Destination dropdown menu and then click on save. This will allow you to save the page with your statement information as a PDF document that you can then print or send as an email attachment.
Where can I find the login instructions for the new online investors portal?
If you cannot find your login instructions, please contact us at members@lowcarbonhub.org and we will email you a PDF copy of the login instructions.
I have a question about my statement information
If you have a question about your statement information, please contact us by email on members@lowcarbonhub.org or by phone on 01865 246099.
- News story
Community Grants Fund: Large Grant Awards April 2023
It’s been a bumper year for Low Carbon Hub large grant applications and we’re delighted to announce that we have awarded large grants to five of our community group members to support a diverse range of fantastic community projects: Our Community Grant Fund offers financial support for community energy activities across Oxfordshire. All Community Members… - News story
A People-Powered Transition: Why Community Energy Matters in Chris Skidmore’s Net Zero Review
We take a look at Chris Skidmore’s Mission Zero report and the importance of community energy. In January, Chris Skidmore released his anticipated net-zero review: Mission Zero. The report calls for accelerated climate action from the UK Government. The Net Zero Review has travelled to all four nations of the UK, received 1800+ responses to… - News story
Oxford recognised as a Net Zero leader on climate change with new innovation project
Oxford has been recognised as a Net Zero leader in combatting climate change, having been awarded £75,000 feasibility funding by the government to help accelerate Oxford’s transition to Net Zero. Oxford has a goal to achieve Net Zero carbon emissions across the city as a wholeby the year 2040 – ten years ahead of the… - News story
Low Carbon Hub’s 10 Years in 10 Numbers
For over a decade, Low Carbon Hub has been at the heart of a growing partnership of people and organisations working together for a low carbon future. At this important milestone, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on what has been achieved over these 10 years with the help of 10 numbers. 1.… - News story
Ray Valley Solar nears completion
Work is fast approaching completion at our first ever ground mount solar park at Ray Valley Solar. Most of the 35,000 solar panels, 1.3 km at the longest point, have been installed on site with an expected completion date of late April. Bringing Ray Valley Solar online will result in a five-fold increase in the… - News story
Low Carbon Hub receives Lord Mayor of Oxford’s Climate Change Fund
We are delighted to announce we have received £5,000 of investment into the Community Energy Fund from the Lord Mayor’s Charity Trust. During former Lord Mayor Craig Simmons’ term as Mayor (2019-21), Oxford City Council declared a climate emergency and Craig was really focused on how the city could play its part in the face… - News story
Ray Valley Solar gets funding to go ahead
We’re really pleased to announce that Triodos Bank will provide a loan to help fund the construction of Ray Valley Solar, our first ground mount solar park. Triodos Bank UK has approved a new loan facility to go toward the construction of the project this year. Further lending will also be made available for its operation, with… - News story
Ray Valley Solar Fact File
You may have seen that two weeks ago our Community Energy Fund 2021 opened for investment. By the end of 2021 we need to raise £3 million to strengthen and grow clean, renewable energy generation in Oxfordshire. We have an initial target raise of £1.5 million by 31 March 2021, which thanks to all the… - News story
The Community Energy Fund 2021 is open!
Our Community Energy Fund has now re-opened for new investment. With your help, we can make an energy system that works for all of us, and for the planet, a reality. Find out more below, or invest in the Community Energy Fund now. Deadline: 31 March 2021Target raise: £1.5 million Minimum investment: £100Maximum investment: £100,000Interest rate: 5%… - News story
Pledge your support for the Community Energy Fund
Good news! We’re reopening the Community Energy Fund to investors next month, giving you the opportunity to support more local energy projects. We have some exciting projects coming up in the pipeline, and we look forward to announcing more detail soon. In the meantime, we’d love to know that we have your support: make a pledge today… - News story
Upcoming webinars on the future of energy
Join us to discuss the future of energy, in our series of webinars The world may be focused on the immediate threat of coronavirus, but we feel strongly that it’s as important as ever for us to continue with our work to tackle the climate crisis and create a zero carbon energy system that’s good… - News story
We’ve raised £1.5 million of new investment!
And we’re so grateful for your support We’re absolutely thrilled to announce that yesterday evening (9 June 2020) we met our £1.5 million target for new investment in our Community Energy Fund. A huge thank you to those of you who have invested and put your money to work tackling climate change! This does mean… - News story
Low Carbon Hub webinar catch up: Investing in the Community Energy Fund
We’ve started a series of webinars, discussing the future of energy and our work at the Low Carbon Hub to create an energy system which is good for people and for the planet, in Oxfordshire and beyond. We held our first webinar on Tuesday 26 May, titled: Investing in the Low Carbon Hub’s Community Energy… - News story
The energy system of the future: Project LEO trials so far
As you may know, the Low Carbon Hub is one of the project partners for Project LEO (Local Energy Oxfordshire) – one of the most ambitious, wide-ranging, innovative and holistic smart network trials ever conducted in the UK. The project is exploring how the UK’s energy system needs to change so that we can achieve… - News story
Make an investment for the next generation
Saving money for the future is one of the best gifts you can give to a child, often helping towards major life goals such as putting down a deposit for a house. If you invest a small amount of money now, over a number of years that could become a substantial pot of money. For… - News story
How coronavirus is affecting the Low Carbon Hub – an update for our Members
We hope all our partners, Members, and supporters are currently safe and well in these unprecedented times. When social distancing restrictions went into place in the UK, our immediate priority was to ensure that our staff team were able to continue to work effectively from the safety of their own homes. We also needed to… - News story
Invest to change the energy system for the better
Previously, we explored why investing your money in a positive way is a great action to take if you want to do something about climate change. But with so many elements making up climate change (food production, fossil fuel extraction, biodiversity loss, media and communication etc), how do you decide where to make an investment?… - News story
Low Carbon Hub investor stories
Investor stories: why invest in the Low Carbon Hub’s Community Energy Fund? We already have over 1,000 Investor Members – people who have chosen to invest their spare money in the Low Carbon Hub and support us in accelerating the transition to a zero carbon energy system. But why have these Members invested in us?… - News story
What projects is this round of our Community Energy Fund funding?
The Low Carbon Hub Community Energy Fund is the opportunity for investors to put your money to work delivering local projects which tackle climate change. Each round of the Community Energy Fund supports a different range of projects, so we wanted to outline what the £1.5 million we’re aiming to raise in this round will… - News story
We’ve reopened the Low Carbon Hub Community Energy Fund
Our Community Energy Fund has now re-opened for new investment. With your help we can make an energy system that works for all of us, and for the planet, a reality. Find out more below, or invest in the Community Energy Fund now. Deadline: 10 June 2020Target raise: £1.5 million Minimum investment: £250Maximum investment: £100,000Interest… - News story
Why investing is a good action to take against climate change
We’re all trying to do our bit to tackle the climate crisis, with our time, our choices, and our money. When it comes to how we use our money, we commonly think of how our spending influences climate change, taking actions such as swapping to a renewable energy provider, choosing sustainably sourced fish, or opting…