HL and Winterflood team up to offer retail access to UK green gilts

Hargreaves Lansdown has partnered with Winterflood Securities to offer retail investors access to UK government green gilts.

Green gilts are issued by the UK Government’s Debt Management Office and are used to finance projects deemed to have a positive impact on the environment.

The groups said this will be the first time retail investors will be able to access green gilts at launch, ie before they are listed and begin trading on the secondary market.

Winterflood is offering the services through its retail capital markets platform WRAP, while private investors can access through HL’s investment and savings platform.

Applications opened for the 4.625% UK Green Gilt maturing on 7 March 2037 – with a minimum investment level of £1,000 – and closed on 10 March. However, HL said there will be further opportunities to apply as they are generally issued once or twice a year, with several additional ‘taps’ of existing green gilts.

See also: Investment managers’ wishlist for green gilts

Emma Wall, chief investment strategist at Hargreaves Lansdown, commented: “We’re proud to offer this key tenet of our primary markets proposition and to support UK retail investors’ access to bond markets, which were previously considered the preserve of institutional investors.

“This is the latest in a series of new offerings, including Treasury Bill auctions, gilt auctions, retail offers and blocks, that demonstrate our commitment to democratising access to the UK primary markets.”