Hi

Thanks to everyone who invested this week, as we reach 58% of our target - please have a read of the share offer document, then complete the form to invest today - and help us reach our goal for Charlton Park Academy!

Here are 7 points you may have missed about Selce’s 7th share offer, to help you make up your mind on taking the plunge and becoming a member:

1. Invest in Some of UK’s Cleanest Energy at Charlton Park Academy

Our share offer supports a special educational needs school lower its energy bills and move away from gas.

But it’s not just about switching to the equivalent in electricity - because a) heat pumps are highly energy efficient b) much of that energy will be supplied by the school’s solar panels, which in a happy twist, we installed as part of our very first share offer!

2. Support Investment and Education in One Project

The install at Charlton Park comes with a learning programme attached.

Supported by our partnership with Centrica’s Energy for Tomorrow programme, Selce will run an on-site workshop and assembly for students: 

Accessible, hands-on sessions on where energy comes from, how solar panels and heat pumps work in their own building, and what jobs the green economy is opening up — using a real installation they walk past every day. 

3. Support the Community, Within the School and Beyond

This project is also forecast to contribute up to £2,000 over the 10 year share period to the Selce Fuel Poverty Fund.

This fund pays for the energy advisors who visit homes across Greenwich, Lewisham, Bexley and Bromley.

Subject to a signed Memorandum of Understanding, the school will refer pupils’ families and alumni directly into this service.  In 2024–25 those we supported saved each on average £442 per household on their bills. 

54.2% of pupils are eligible for free school meals — more than three times the England average.

The same families whose children swim in the pool are often the same families who knock on the door of the advice service. This share offer closes that loop deliberately.  

4. Support Our Continuing Track Record and Previous Success, for the 24th Time

This is our 24th installation - 12 solar, 11 for LED lighting and if this hits its target, our first heat pump.

All were financed through community share offers - from the community coming together to invest in and own the future we want.

In total we’ve raised more than £500k that has gone back into helping schools and other vital services save money, and cut carbon emissions.

5. We’ve Been Busy Already - Project Work Completed to Date

Lots of work and funding has already happened to get us to this point!

The project has been substantially de-risked through completed engineering design, a competitive tender process, planning consent, grid connection approval, and £130,000 of grant funding secured from Centrica, the Lord Mayor’s Office (via the London Community Energy Fund) and the Royal Borough of Greenwich…

And that’s where the community share offer steps in, with your investment, to complete the project funding.

5. Invest and Become a Selce Member - Have a Say on our Future

All investors become Selce members - and each have an equal vote, regardless of how much they invest.

All members are invited to an AGM at which the annual report and accounts are considered, auditors appointed, directors elected (along with Treasurer and Chair), and decisions taken on the use of any surplus.

So by investing, you can also have a say in the future of the co-op!

6. How Investments are Paid Back

With a minimum investment of £250, investors are paid a projected 4% annual return - that’s 4% of their investment amount.

As a member you are projected to receive the full amount of your initial investment back over the 10 year share offer period, spread between years 4-10; with 1/10th being paid each year from year 4, and the remaining lump sum paid at the end of 10 year period. 

You can see all of the details in the share offer document - page 20 for the table, and more info on page 24.

7. This Project’s Success - a Ripple Effect in Future

With the school’s consent, we will use the project’s consumption meter and performance data as a research and case study resource for the community energy and renewable heat sector — to help others build similar projects - of which there are still only a few.

So in a sense, by investing, you are not just funding this project, but enabling more like it in future.

Invest in community.

Invest in a cleaner, fairer future for South East London.

Read the share offer document, then complete the form to invest today - and help us reach our goal for Charlton Park Academy!