British Business Bank agrees ENABLE Guarantee transaction of up to £500m with agricultural specialist lender, Oxbury Bank
The British Business Bank has agreed a new ENABLE Guarantee transaction of up to £500m with Oxbury Bank. Oxbury is a specialist agricultural bank that offers a range of lending and asset finance solutions tailored to the specific needs of farm businesses, supporting food production and the rural economy.
The new transaction will further support agricultural term lending to small-and-medium-sized farming businesses to invest in their operations, improve productivity and support long-term growth across the rural economy.
It will also continue to include a pricing discount to Oxbury for lending that meets certain sustainability metrics, for example, reducing carbon emissions or utilising renewable energy.
This is the second ENABLE Guarantee bank transaction to include a junior investor within the structure. This demonstrates the effectiveness of this approach in giving specialist banks access to this investor base.
Under the transaction structure the British Business Bank will guarantee the senior position, whilst global investment firm Davidson Kempner Capital Management will provide the junior investment. Oxbury will retain a portion of the credit risk across each underlying agreement.
The transaction reflects the British Business Bank’s greater risk appetite in supporting small and medium-sized farming businesses, with its structure and scale resulting in the Bank’s largest single-facility exposure to date.
This transaction follows on from a previous £100m ENABLE Guarantee transaction with Oxbury, originally announced in November 2023, with subsequent increases announced in July 2024 and again in February 2025 to £300m. This transaction has facilitated over £425m of finance to over 400 small and medium-sized farming businesses in that time..
Since 2022 the British Business Bank has also invested £35m in Oxbury via Tier 2 capital facilities. This is in line with our approach to partner with the private sector to increase the supply and variety of debt finance available to smaller businesses across the UK.
Business secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: Too many good businesses are held back because they can’t get access to the finance they need to invest and grow.
Whether it’s buying new machinery, expanding the business or making plans for the years ahead, farmers need the confidence that finance will be there when they need it. This £500m ENABLE Guarantee will help make that happen.
Michael Strevens, managing director, Structured Financial Institution Solutions, British Business Bank, said: This £500m ENABLE Guarantee with Oxbury Bank represents another significant step forward in our support for the farming sector and partnership with Oxbury.
Bringing another investor into the specialist finance market further demonstrates how using our guarantees can leverage in institutional capital previously unable to access smaller business lending, helping to generate long term growth for the UK economy.
We are delighted to build on our partnership with Oxbury and the £425m of lending we have supported them with recently and look forward to seeing it further grow its support to farming and rural businesses across England, Scotland and Wales.
James Farrar, co-founder and CEO of Oxbury Bank, said: This transaction marks another important milestone in Oxbury’s growth and our mission to support farmers, food producers and the wider rural economy. Since 2022, the British Business Bank has been a strong and valued partner, recognising early on the importance of ensuring that agriculture has access to specialist, long-term finance.
The sector is facing both opportunities and challenges as businesses look to invest in productivity and the transition towards more sustainable farming systems. These investments often require significant capital today, with the benefits realised over many years through stronger yields, supply chains and improved business resilience.
The British Business Bank has consistently demonstrated an understanding of the vital role agriculture plays in the UK economy, both now and for future generations. Their continued support enables Oxbury to expand our successful specialist lending model, helping more farmers access the competitive finance they need to invest with confidence and build a stronger future for British agriculture.