How can we help you?

As with any investment, investing in organisations on Ethex involves risk. Don't invest unless you're prepared to lose all the money you invest. Even if the business you invest in is successful, it will likely take several years to get your money back.

It is therefore important that before investing you familiarise yourself with the terms and specific risks of each offer and that you do not invest more than you can afford to lose. Putting all your money into a single business or type of investment for example, is risky. Spreading your money across different types of investments makes you less dependent on any one to do well.

You can find more details on the Ethex Risk Warning page here.

As an investment crowdfunding platform Ethex takes seriously it’s duty to protect any potential investor from harm. Whether your motivation for investing is driven by impact or financial return (or somewhere in between) we still feel it is important that a potential investor can understand and accept the risks inherent to the types of investments we offer via the website.

The investor Appropriateness Test forms part of our onboarding process when you decide to open an account with Ethex, and you must complete this test before you are able to make an investment on the website. This test exists to allow you to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of the key risks associated with unlisted and illiquid securities. If this is a new area of investment for you we recommend that you read our Risks and Investor FAQs pages, as well as following the link in the banner found pinned to the header of our website which invites you to ‘Take 2 minutes to learn more’ before attempting the Appropriateness Test for the first time.

We allow investors 5 attempts at passing this test, and introduce short lockout periods should you fail the test more than twice. Unfortunately, we’re unable to assist or provide feedback which could affect future answers to the appropriateness test - including outlining previous incorrect answers. We understand this may be frustrating, especially where there is a particular investment opportunity that you wish to support. This test forms part of our controls in ensuring you do not invest your money into a product or investment that is not suitable for you, and in having this test as part of our onboarding process Ethex are adopting best practise in adhering to regulatory guidelines.

If you have not received an email asking to verify your email address then please check your email account spam or junk folder before contacting us. If you still can’t find this email then contact us at help@ethex.org.uk and we will have a replacement email sent to you.

As part of our “Know your customer” (KYC) checks and compliance requirements, Ethex needs to carry out electronic checks on all potential investors as part of Anti-money laundering (AML) regulations.

Most of the time these checks can be carried out without the need of additional documentation but in the rare occasion that this is required it is due to the submitted personal information not matching online databases. You therefore will need to upload a photo proof of identity (passport or driving license) or proof of address document (bank statement, utility bill, council tax statement etc) from the last 3 months so we can verify your details. The checks carried out will not affect your credit rating.

When registering, you will be asked to categorise yourself as either a Restricted, Sophisticated or High Net Worth (HNW) investor. This is an FCA requirement and must be completed for you to be eligible to invest on Ethex.

When clicking on each category, you will be given an overview of the option and we ask that you select that which matches your investor type closest.

Please note; you will be required to re-categorise every year.

This is a requirement from the FCA. At the point when you have completed your registration details, you will be advised that you must wait 24 hours before investing. This ensures you have adequate time to understand more about the nature of the investments on the Ethex platform. When the 24 hours are up, you can log back on to your account to invest.

Unfortunately, only one person can be associated with an account on Ethex and each account must use a different email address.

Investors from outside of the EEA will be required to complete additional checks as part of the registration process and we will also request proof of identity and proof of your address documentation before allowing investment via the website.  If you live outside the UK, it may be possible for you to invest but we cannot guarantee that every business featured on the website will be able to accept your investment.

Unfortunately, if you are a citizen or resident of the United States of America or Canada you can’t invest via Ethex due to tax reporting obligations this places on us. This also applies to UK dual-nationals of these countries.

To update your address, password and marketing preferences login to your Ethex account (www.ethex.org.uk/login) and click the orange account button in the top right-hand corner of your screen. Then click “Profile” and select your option from the list provided.

To update your email address, select "Contact Details" then "Change your email address" and click the orange button after completing the form. A confirmation email will be sent to your new address asking you to confirm this change. As an account security measure, a notification will also be sent to your current email address to inform you of the change request, allowing you to cancel and leave your details unchanged.

If you have not received an email confirming your order then email us at orders@ethex.org.uk and we will have a replacement email sent to you.  Please check your email account spam or junk folder before contacting us.

Your order will show as “in progress” in your portfolio until the date at which the business chooses to drawdown on funds raised from their offer and allocate you as investor. You should usually expect to wait a couple of weeks after the close date of the offer or when the offer has reached its raise target before being confirmed as an investor.  

Unfortunately, only one person can be associated with an account on Ethex and so we are unable to process investments held in joint names. If the terms of an offer allow for joint investment then a nominated representative should be appointed to make the investment on behalf of all parties. 

We aim to provide you with lots of useful information about positive investment to help you make your own investment decisions. However, we cannot advise you on the merits of particular investments. If you are not sure that you fully understand the risks and returns of a positive investment then we recommend you contact an Independent Financial Adviser.

Unfortunately, if you are a citizen or resident of the United States of America or Canada you can’t invest via Ethex due to tax reporting obligations this places on us. This also applies to UK dual-nationals of these countries.

Outside of this restriction, if you live outside the UK, it may be possible for you to invest but we cannot guarantee that every business featured on the website will be able to accept your investment. Additionally, certain countries may impose restrictions on the ability of their nationals to invest overseas and consent may be required or taxes due locally. As we cannot be familiar with the legislation in every country, when you make a decision to invest from outside the UK, we need to make it clear to you that it is your responsibility to be aware of any restrictions your country of residence may impose, and that Ethex cannot be liable for them.

Investors from outside of the EEA will be required to complete additional checks as part of the registration process and we will also request proof of identity and proof of your address documentation before allowing investment via the website.

Yes, this is a great way of introducing them to ethical investing at an early age. Although the Ethex platform is only eligible for those 18 or above, for certain campaigns, investments can be held on behalf of those younger until they turn 18. These campaigns will state on their profile whether they are eligible as such and where this is possible you will be able to do this as part of the online investment process.  At the end of placing your order, you will be asked if you want to make any nominations and can add the requested details at that point. There is also the ability to add these at a later date via your portfolio, however, if you need to subsequently change an existing nomination then you’ll need to contact us to do this.  Our T&Cs cover the legal aspects of making any nominations.

It is generally possible to cancel your application for shares/bonds at any point before the closing date of an offer, unless the business in which you have invested has already accepted your investment during the course of their fundraise. If the business has already 'drawn down' your money and issued you with shares/bonds it will not be possible to cancel your investment and receive a refund.  To cancel any application please send a request by email orders@ethex.org.uk. Please note that if you have paid by debit card then any transaction fee cannot be refunded upon cancellation.

Yes, investments of up to £2,000 can be paid for by debit card. However, fees do apply for debit card payments so it is more cost effective to pay for your investment by bank transfer. All investments made by debit card will incur a charge of 0.9082% of the investment amount plus a fixed fee of £0.05, which will be charged to you and added on top of your investment amount. All charges round up. This fee is charged separately and does not affect your investment amount.  The transaction fee cannot be refunded upon cancellation of an order.

Example: Investing £100 would cost 96p (rounded up) and your card will by charged a total of £100.96

Card payments will take 3 days to clear on your Ethex account. Please note that it is not possible for us to refund any amount onto your payment card, instead money on your Ethex account will need to be withdrawn to a bank account in your name.

Many of our investors make investments via free bank transfers which they can continue to do but some investors have told us they would prefer to use card payments, so we have responded to demand and introduced this functionality.

As a not for profit, Ethex endeavours to keep our fees to investors and businesses raising finance as low as possible so that much more of the money invested goes towards creating social and environmental impact. As a result, we are passing through  to investors the costs of transaction fees associated with card payments for investments. 

Ethex does not accept cheques as a payment method for investments.  The Ethex website uses a third payment provider (Share In Ltd) for payment services.  Share In are properly authorised for handling of client money and offer options of arranging a bank transfer or making payment by debit card for any investments you wish to make via the Ethex website.

If an investment raise fails to reach its minimum raise target before the official close date of the offer, then investors will be notified that the project is no longer proceeding and funds will be returned to your bank account or Ethex ewallet.  

If you have a complaint about any aspect of our service, please contact us directly. To help us investigate and resolve the problem as quickly as possible, please give us the following information: 

• Your name, and Ethex account number, if relevant. 
• A clear description of your concern or complaint. 
• Details of what you would like us to do to put it right. 
• Copies of any relevant documents, such as letters. 
• A daytime telephone number where we can contact you and an email address.

We will try to resolve your complaint immediately, and with minimum inconvenience to you.

If it is more complex, we will: 
Send an acknowledgement of your complaint by email within five working days. 
Confirm who will handle your complaint, and how you can contact them. 

We will keep you informed of progress and aim to resolve your complaint and provide you with a final response within eight weeks, which includes:

• A summary of the complaint. 
• A summary of the outcome of our investigation. 
• Whether we acknowledge there has been any fault on our part and whether the complaint will be upheld. 
• Details of any offer to settle the complaint and how long this offer will remain open. 

If we are unable to provide you with a final response within eight weeks we will write to you with an explanation and with an indication as to when you will get one. As Ethex is not currently registered with the Financial Conduct Authority, we do not come under the remit of the Financial Ombudsman. 

Information regarding your investments made via Ethex can be found in your “Portfolio” which can be accessed by logging into your Ethex account. Each investment will have copies of the businesses Annual Report and interest payment dates.  

For those businesses for whom Ethex are the registrar, investors can also find details of specific interest/dividend payments received as well as download yearly tax certificates.  Further information can be found in the “Registry” FAQs below. 

We will first need to see an official copy of the deceased’s death certificate before being able to share any details of their holdings. We also request that you send a copy of the Grant of Probate or equivalent documentation once this has been granted. Once we have these documents, we can then begin the process of releasing or transferring the holdings to the appropriate beneficiaries. The ability to sell or withdraw the holding(s) in question is dependent on the investment. 

• The first step is to fill out our online application form where you can tell us more about your business and the impact it delivers. You can also upload any documents you might have such as a pitch-deck, business plan or offer document.
• Once we’ve read over your application, someone from our Business Development team will get in touch to talk through your investment offer and its suitability for the platform.
  
• We’ll work with you to provide feedback on the final draft of your offer document which we can then review and carry out our internal due diligence on. We will give feedback to ensure that the information you provide will give you the best possible chance of raising the finance you need. If your offer document requires Financial Promotions sign-off then we can arrange this prior to the start of the investment offer.
  
• Together with our Marketing and Communications team, you can develop a campaign that reaches and speaks to the right audience for your offer. This will include us building a compelling online profile for your business on the Ethex platform.
  
• We will need to complete our due diligence on the final version of your offer document, this review and creating a profile for your business will take around 4 weeks, once this is done we will be ready to launch your offer.
  
• During the live campaign we will use our expertise to market your offer to the right people in order to bring in the investment you need, including working with you to ensure that you are reaching all your key stakeholders. There are a number of different factors which determine how long a campaign lasts, our Business Development team will help you to decide how long you should set your campaign to run for. Once you have reached your minimum target you will be able to drawdown funds (subject to any other conditions that might need to be met e.g. planning permission being obtained).
  
• Once you have reached your target or the end of your campaign period you can discuss with our team whether you want to close the offer or stay open to continue raising investment (as long as your offer document allows for this).
  
• Once the offer closes we will prepare an investor list for your Directors to approve. Once this list is approved by your Board we can transfer the money and you can welcome your new investors and start using the money you have raised to deliver positive impact.
  

We work with a number of organisations which are keen to match the investment made by our impact motivated investor base. Our Business Development team are available to talk through which of the match funding opportunities might be available to your business. Below are current opportunities for match funding on Ethex.

People’s Postcode Lottery

There is a broad spectrum of impact areas covered by this match funding pot, with investments being made up to £50,000.

MCS Foundation

This match funding pot from MCS will be used to co-invest in at least 10 organisations focused on renewable energy, sustainable transport and green technologies.

Community Shares Booster Fund

Power to Change and the Architectural Heritage Fund provide match funding for qualifying community shares offers. You can find more information and apply to the programme here and can apply to them directly when they are accepting applications.

Reach Access Fund

Ethex is proud to be a Contact Point for the Reach Access Fund, a programme of investment readiness grants that helps charities and social enterprises raise investment. The programme is funded by Access – The Foundation for Social Investment and is open to organisations in England.

Being an Access Point Contact for the Reach Fund means that we can help and support you to apply for grants to the Fund for up to £15,000 to get your enterprise investment-ready.

We have now spent our current allocation of grant monies from the Reach Access Fund, so are not currently able to put organisations forward for this grant programme. We hope to be able to provide access to more grants from the Reach Fund in the near future.

Booster Fund Development Grants

The Community Shares Booster Programme is able to offer development grants to organisations that are looking to get support for their community share offer to achieve the Standard Mark. Applications to this grant pot can be made here.

Whether you combat climate change, tackle inequality or make your local community more resilient we are here to help you raise the money you need to grow. Our highly motivated positive investors want to invest their money into organisations like yours that deliver impact.

We work with social enterprises and profit with purpose businesses across a wide range of sectors including renewable energy, affordable and supported housing, sustainable transport, biodynamic farming and community finance.

You can raise with us if:

• You are an organisation registered in the UK
• You deliver positive impact through tackling inequality, making communities more resilient or combatting climate change
  
• You aren’t involved in damage to the environment through your activities, engaged in any way in arms sales, pornography, tobacco or animal testing or with a poor human rights or employment rights record.
  
• Have a well-established and appropriately structured board of directors
  
• Have an acceptable policy on paying a return to investors.
  
• Be able to report on the social and environmental benefits of the business.
  

Fill in our application form if you think your organisation is eligible.

Ethex is a not-for-profit organisation and we strive to keep our fees as low as possible, so organisations raising finance can benefit from more of the money they raise. We charge a fixed fee plus a percentage of any monies raised. 

Other Business Services:   
We can also provide you with a quote for:

• Registry Services
• Listing on our Wider Market

The minimum amount you can raise with us is £120,000. The average raise is around £400,000, and our largest raise to date was £5,000,000. We are happy to discuss a raise of any size, but the work involved with onboarding, due diligence and creation of offer materials may make our fees unviable for investment raises lower than £120,000.

It is common for businesses to want to change their financing structure, for example to replace expensive debt used to finance a development project with longer term and lower cost capital, once the project is complete and running. We have worked on a number of refinance deals and would be happy to talk to you about your particular financing needs.

We’re passionate about helping people make money do good. As a not-for-profit social enterprise, we care as much as you do about tackling some of the greatest challenges that we face today.

We have a strong track record of successfully raising more than £100 million for over 200 projects from a committed network of more than 20,000 people who want to use their money to create impact.

Our highly engaged network of positive investors want to invest in organisations like yours so that their money can give them a positive social or environmental return, as well as a fair financial one.

We work with several match fund providers such as the People’s Postcode Lottery or MCS who can provide significant co-investment alongside the crowd to eligible offers.

We use our years of experience and high-quality data to ensure that we target your offer to those investors most likely to support your organisation.

Our experienced Marketing and Communications team will work with you to reach out to new investors that are interested in supporting your organisation. We will do this through a range of channels including social media, traditional media and our networks.

We offer an Innovative Finance ISA into which eligible investors can place investments into bonds or loans and earn a tax-free return, subject to individual circumstances.

We have a highly professional Operations team who will handle all aspects of the investment raise including regulatory compliance checks, order handling and investor communications.

At the end of the offer, we carry out a full reconciliation on all of your orders and use this information to create your investor list. Once that list is approved by you we transfer the money across to your nominated account via CHAPS.

We can provide follow-on services such as Registry Management to ensure that your investors are being well-looked after, including making interest payments and returning capital.

You’ll also have access to our comprehensive guides, FAQs and webinars and our team will work hard to ensure you have everything you need to successfully fund on Ethex.

As part of our services to you when you raise finance on Ethex our highly experienced Marketing and Communications team will help you make your offer a success.

During a raise you will work with our Marketing and Communications team to develop a campaign that reaches the right audience for your offer. This will include us building a compelling online profile for your business on the Ethex platform.

We use our years of experience and high quality data to ensure that we get the messaging right and target your offer to those investors most likely to support your organisation. Working with a successful PR firm, we’ll seek opportunities to get your story in front of the people that matter seeking local and even national coverage.

We will work with you to reach out to new investors that are interested in supporting your organisation. We will do this through a range of channels including social media, traditional media and our networks.

We want our investors to be able to talk to the people they might want to invest in. We make this happen by setting up Meet the Business webinars and our regular Cuppa Club webinars are an opportunity to discuss your area of impact with our investors.

We can help your organisation to grow and flourish by raising investment from like-minded investors. We can help you issue either equity or debt (or a combination) to raise the finance you need.

Equity can be either traditional Transferable Shares or, if you are a Community Benefit Society or a Co-operative, Withdrawable Shares (sometimes known as Community Shares).

If you want to issue debt then you can offer either bonds or loan stock through the platform.

If you are not sure which investment product would be best for you to raise the finance you need then you can speak to our Business Development team. They will be able to outline the various features of the different products to help you decide what works for your organisation.

Ethex aims to help investors better understand both the risks and the rewards of ethical investment and in achieving this, we expect to meet the highest standard of governance and to adhere to both the rules and the spirit of the financial and legal regulatory systems

Ethex is not required to be authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority in so far as it provides information on or arranges deals in investments. This is because it is an Enterprise Scheme, which is exempt from regulation in arranging financial deals when not for pecuniary gain, as specified in the Financial Service and Markets Act 2000 (Exemption) Order 2001 paragraph 40.

Before opening an IFISA with Ethex you need to register with us and complete the set up of your account. Once complete you will see an ISA section within the dropdown menu in the top right-hand corner with the option to “Open a new ISA” which will take you to the relevant page. Please read and agree to the Ethex IFISA T&Cs and enter your National Insurance number. Click on "Continue" to complete the process.  

It's currently not possible to pay for an order directly via ISA transfer. We therefore ask that you go through the process of transferring money from an existing ISA before placing an IFISA order for investment. Once completed, the money will be available in your IFISA “wallet” ready for investment. 

To transfer funds from another ISA provider, simply select Account --> IFISA --> New ISA Transfer, and fill in your current ISA provider’s details and the amount you wish to transfer. Print, sign and upload your form via the messaging system.  You can also post the form to our ISA managers (ShareIn Ltd) at the following address; ShareIn Ltd, Argyle House, 3 Lady Lawson Street, Edinburgh, EH3 9DR. Once received, ShareIn will contact your existing ISA provider to have the requested funds transferred to your Ethex IFISA “wallet”.  

If you wish to transfer available money from your Ethex IFISA to another ISA, you will need to contact your new ISA provider who will instruct you on their procedures. Please inform them that Ethex IFISAs are managed by ShareIn Ltd and can be found by searching "ShareIn Ltd t/a Ethex".

IFISAs are not treated the same as a standard Cash ISA and don't have a specific account/roll number or sort code. However, if you're unable to complete the transfer form without providing information for that section, you can use "N/A" or "1234". ShareIn will match the account based on your personal details on the transfer form.

There are no fees for opening, making investments, transferring out or withdrawing funds from your Ethex IFISA.  

No, the "cash balance" in your Ethex IFISA will not accrue any additional interest.

Ethex IFISA eligible products are easily identifiable by the IFISA tag on the investment tile and profile page.

Once you have clicked “Invest” on the offer profile you will be taken to a copy of the project’s offer document. At the bottom of this page there will be an option to “Invest within IFISA” which you must select if you want the investment to be held in your Ethex IFISA.   

No, it's not possible to move an existing investment into your Ethex IFISA.

No, it is not possible to invest in investment opportunities listed on Energise Africa or any other crowdfunding platform via your Ethex IFISA.  Only investments that are listed on the Ethex website can be held within your Ethex IFISA.  

If you decide to not proceed with an investment and request to cancel the order, the money will be returned to your IFISA account.  Any current year subscription money used towards the order will still count towards your ISA allowance at that point, however the Ethex IFISA is fully flexible so withdrawing the money from your IFISA account will remove it from your current year ISA allowance.

No, only 'new' money deposited into your IFISA will contribute to your annual ISA subscription allowance. Interest payments for your IFISA investments are paid into your IFISA "wallet" and will show as a cash balance on your account.  That money is then available for investment in future IFISA eligible offers on the Ethex website or can be transferred to another ISA by creating a "Transfer out request" from the IFISA menu on the left-side of your portfolio.

Your eligibility to hold returns tax-free within an IFISA is dependent on your own personal tax status, and investing within an IFISA does not guarantee you will make a return on your investment.

An IFISA does not reduce the risk of the investment or protect you from losses, so you can still lose all your money. It only means that any potential returns will be tax free. If any of the parties involved in the arrangement, Ethex or ShareIn Ltd (ISA manager), enters a wind down scenario, there is no guarantee that you will be able to transfer your ISA holdings to another ISA provider and therefore your ISA wrapper may be lost. An ISA transfer may involve costs for which neither Ethex nor ShareIn bear responsibility. If any of the parties involved in an ISA investment winds down, returns (both capital and any interest or profit) may be adversely impacted.

Where Ethex is the registrar 
You can find full details of all returns made on your investment whilst Ethex was the employed registrar in your Portfolio. Simply click the blue arrow beside the investment, followed by the “Payouts” tab.  You can also view and download additional information from the "Statements" menu on the left side of your portfolio:



Where Ethex is not the registrar
You will need to contact the organisations' employed registrar so they can provide you with the appropriate information. Details of each businesses’ registrar can be found in your Portfolio in the "Updates" section of the investment.

Where Ethex is the registrar 
Repayments will be made into your Ethex “wallet” and you can view your cash balance from within your Portfolio. A breakdown of all your repayments can be downloaded as a PDF or .csv file by clicking “Cash transactions” on the left-hand side of your Portfolio:



Where Ethex is not the registrar
You will need to contact the organisations' employed registrar so they can provide you with the appropriate information. Details of each businesses’ registrar can be found in your Portfolio in the "Updates" section of the investment.

To withdraw funds from your Ethex “wallet” simply go to your Portfolio and choose either your “Main Account” or “IFISA account” depending on where your funds are currently held. Then select “Withdraw Funds” and enter how much you wish to withdraw (minimum withdrawal amount of £1.00). Please note that if you choose to withdraw any interest earnt from IFISA investments then these funds will lose their ISA status.

Please note that Ethex is only able to show details of repayments and balance activity from when we took over as registrar for each organisation.