Oaksmore has launched an Innovative Finance Isa investing in projects to restore historic British buildings and heritage sites.
The Oaksmore Isa is offered through Oaksmore Portfolios AIFM, a regulated alternative funds provider.
Funds in the Isa will be used to develop and restore historic buildings which have fallen into disuse and disrepair, transforming them back to their best possible state for use and increasing the profitability of the site, the group said.
The Oaksmore Isa is structured as a five-year bond paying interest of 7.5 per cent a year, or a two-year bond returning 5 per cent a year.
There is an annual fee of 0.5 per cent. The minimum investment is £1,000, and the maximum is the annual Isa allowance of £20,000. Savers can only invest in to one Innovative Finance Isa in any one tax year, but can hold different types of ISAs such as Cash or Stocks & Shares alongside.
Tony Norris, CEO at Oaksmore, said: “We are delighted to be able to offer UK consumers the chance to enjoy investing savings in an Isa account with a difference.
"Not only does the Oaksmore ISA allow tax-free savings with a very healthy interest of 7.5 per cent, but it also allows investors to pledge their hard-earned savings to a cause in which they have a genuine interest.
“With new developments being erected at a vast rate across UK towns and cities, the investments made into the Oaksmore Isa are utilised to maintain British history by bringing back to life much-loved heritage sites across the UK, which have fallen into disuse or disrepair.
“The process is simple - Isas are used to acquire property-backed bonds. Invested money is held in a specific, secure client bank account until it is allocated to the latest bond and project so that restoration work can commence.”
Julie Lord, chief executive of Magenta Financial Planning, said she would want to know more detail about how the projects will make enough money to deliver the punchy interest rate on offer.
“I would be nervous, it sounds too good to be true. How are they making money? By all means, put a couple of thousand in it and see how it goes, but not all your money.
"I would say be cautious and read the small print carefully and my advice to advisers would be, if you don’t understand it, give it a wide berth.”
