FAQs

You need to be:

• over 18 years old
• a UK resident 

• a tax resident in another country
• a US person

No, projects on the Collective are available to anyone who completes signup.

If you’re interested in switching your energy supplier to Octopus Energy, visit: https://octopus.energy/

No, projects are available to all members of the Collective. 

You don’t need to supply any documents as part of our signup process. 

When you go to make your first investment, we’ll attempt to verify your identity using the name and address you used to sign up. If we can’t verify your identity with these details, we’ll prompt you to upload a copy of your driving licence or passport (which can be a UK or non-UK ID as long as it’s in date), and proof of address. For proof of address, we’ll accept a:

• bank statement or credit card statement issued in the last 3 months
• utility bill (gas, water, or electricity) issued within the last 3 months
• HMRC letter or council tax bill issued in the last 12 months
• valid driving licence (if not submitted as your form of ID)

Investments on the Collective aren’t suitable for everyone, so it’s important we make sure you fully understand what’s on offer and the risks associated with investing before you become a member. 

Don’t worry — we’re not trying to catch you out! You can find everything you need to know about the Collective in our FAQs and on our risks page.

You can retake the investor test immediately if you fail on your first attempt. After failing a second time, you’ll need to wait 7 days between each subsequent attempt. After your fifth failure, we’ll get in touch with you to chat about whether investments on the Collective could be the right fit for you.

No, it’s completely up to you if you invest in a project once you complete signup. 

Check out our risks page. Information about risk can also be found in a project’s offer document. 

It’s important you understand the risks involved before making any investment decisions.

The Collective lets you invest in renewable energy projects. These projects make money by selling the green energy they generate. If they’re profitable, you could earn a target return.

Each project is technically an unlisted company — meaning you won’t find it on a stock exchange. Right now, projects offer preference shares or bonds. In the future, we may offer different kinds of investments on the platform

Yes, your money is at risk when you invest through the Collective.

If the project you invest in underperforms or fails, you may not earn a return or get back what you invested.

If a project doesn’t make enough profit — for example, if the wind doesn’t blow or the sun doesn’t shine and a project generates less energy — it may not be able to pay you a return, and you might not get your original investment back.

If Collective goes out of business, your investment will still be valid as long as the project itself is operating. You’d still receive a return and the repayment of your original investment if the project can afford to pay them.

The Collective is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which regulates financial services and markets in the UK. Our Firm Reference Number is 997572. While being regulated means we're committed to doing things right, please note that the Collective being regulated doesn’t guarantee returns or protect your money. 

Projects on the Collective are not regulated by the FCA as they do not offer financial products or services.

The money you invest through the Collective is not protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), which can sometimes compensate people who lose money through investing. This is because the Collective does not give personalised advice or manage your investment portfolio — it’s up to you to decide whether or not to invest.

However, if you have a complaint about the Collective, you can contact the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), which is a free and impartial service that helps to resolve disputes.

No — once the investment term starts, you won’t be able to sell your investment or withdraw your money early.

In the future, we may introduce a secondary market to let you sell some or all of your investment during the term.

You can invest between £25 and £20,000 into a project on the Collective. The amount you invest is up to you, and you can invest in as many projects as you like. 

A good rule of thumb to remember is not to invest more than 10% of your net assets (money) in high-risk investments.

As with all investments, you're not guaranteed to make money and you might lose the money you invest.

Projects on the Collective have an annual target return which you can use as a guide for how much you might earn each year your money is invested.

For example, if you invest £1,000 in a project that has a three year investment term and a 6% target return, you can expect to earn £60 a year, totalling £180 over three years.

Future projects may have different target returns and investment terms.

An Innovative Finance ISA (IFISA) is a type of ISA that lets you hold certain investments, such as bonds, in a more tax-efficient way. Its main benefit is that if you earn interest, you don’t pay tax on it — so you get to keep more of what you earn.

However, holding an investment in an IFISA doesn’t reduce the risks involved. It doesn’t guarantee that you’ll earn a return or that you’ll get your original investment back.

Read more about IFISAs in our IFISA FAQs section.

This type of share generally offers a fixed target rate of return per year, and entitles you to receive dividends before other shareholders.

At the end of your investment term, the project will aim to 'redeem' your preference shares. This means your shares are bought back at the original price you paid, and your initial investment amount is returned to you.

Just remember that with all investments, your capital is at risk. Dividend payments aren't guaranteed, and you might not get back the full amount you originally put in.

A bond is like a loan. When you invest in one through the Collective, you’re lending your money to a specific green energy project, like a wind turbine or a solar farm.

In return for your loan, the project pays you interest over a set amount of time. And you can expect to get your original investment back as one full payment at the end, or in smaller chunks along with your interest payments.

Bond investments can usually be held in an Innovative Finance ISA (IFISA), which means that any interest you earn would be tax-free.

Just remember that with all investments, your capital is at risk. Interest payments aren't guaranteed, and you might not get back the full amount you originally put in.

We carry out due diligence on all green energy projects before they list on the Collective. This is to assess whether it’s reasonable to expect the project to deliver its target return.

Our due diligence involves analysing the unlisted company that owns the energy project, including its financial forecast, which is based on energy generation, expected revenue and costs.

It’s important to note that due diligence does not mean the financial information has been verified, audited, or that target returns are guaranteed. 

Before you invest on the Collective, make sure you read the project’s share offer document, understand the risks involved, and decide whether the investment is right for you.

Typically about 90 days, you can find the exact closing date in a project’s offer document. Note that the offer may close ahead of schedule if there’s high demand and the project reaches its investment target early.

Zilch! We don’t charge you any fees for using the Collective. 

Each project has an ‘investment term’. This is the length of time your money is invested for.

Take a look at a project’s page and offer document for details on how long the investment term is.

Currently, no — you can’t reinvest your returns into the same project. However, any money you earn can be invested in a different project available on the Collective, or withdrawn to invest elsewhere.

You can invest up to £20,000 before the investment offer closes. This can be done in multiple transactions. 

If you invest and decide you want to cancel your investment, you can do so up until five working days before your investment is issued. We’ll let you know when this is when the offer closes. To cancel your investment, please email [email protected].

It depends on the project. In some cases, the investment term will go ahead, in others, the project could be paused and anyone who invested would get their money back.

Generally, investments are issued about 20 days after the project target is met and the offer closes. This is to give investors a final chance to cancel their investment if they wish to do so, and to allow time for admin related to issuing the investments.

No, unlike buying shares listed on a stock exchange, the value of your investments on the Collective will not go up and down over time.

A dividend is a portion of a company's profit paid to shareholders as a reward for owning shares.

When you buy shares in a project on the Collective, you get the opportunity to earn dividends with a fixed target return, meaning you have more certainty about how much you could earn. But remember, dividends aren’t guaranteed.

Interest is the money you earn for lending your money to someone else.

When you invest in a bond on the Collective, you get the opportunity to earn interest. How much you could receive, and how often payments are made, will vary by project. You’ll find full details in the project’s offer document. And remember, interest payments are not guaranteed.

How often you receive dividends or interest depends on the project. You’ll find full details in the project’s offer document.

Once your investment is live, you can view your payment schedule in your Collective account by going to Menu > Portfolio > Returns schedule.

By default, any dividends or interest you receive will be paid into your Collective Wallet (or your IFISA Wallet if the investment is held in an IFISA).

To withdraw funds, go to Portfolio, select the relevant portfolio, and choose Withdraw money. Withdrawals usually take 1–2 working days to complete.

Shareholder votes will not be held during the investment term. 

For shares, you’ll receive a certificate of beneficial ownership. For bonds, you’ll have a bond certificate.

You can view your certificate by going to Portfolio, selecting your investment, and looking under Your Documents.

If you’re an Octopus Energy customer and a main account holder, you can choose to use any returns you earn through the Collective to offset your energy bills.

To set this up:

1. Link your Octopus Energy account by going to Menu > Your account > Link Octopus Energy account.
2. Wait 1–3 working days while we verify and link your account.
3. Update your returns preferences by going to Menu > Portfolio > Manage returns and opt to send your returns to your Octopus Energy account.

To be added as a main account holder to your Octopus Energy account, the current main account holder will need to give their consent to Octopus Energy.

To do this:

1. Ask the main account holder to call Octopus Energy on 0808 164 1088 while you're in the room.
2. Get them to ask the Energy Specialist to add you as a main account holder.
3. Get them to pass you the phone so you can confirm your consent.
4. Once that's done, you can link your account in the Collective by going to Menu > Your account > Link Octopus Energy account.

Depending on the project, you can either expect to receive the amount you invested at the end of the investment term as a lump sum, or gradually through smaller payments during the term.

In either case, you won’t be able to sell your investment or withdraw your money early.

If you find yourself in a situation where you want to access your investment money, email us at [email protected]. Remember, it’s important to only invest money you’re prepared to be without for the length of the investment.. 

You may need to pay tax on the money you earn through the Collective depending on your individual circumstances.

If your investment is held in an Innovative Finance ISA (IFISA), any interest you earn is tax-free, as long as you’re within your £20,000 annual ISA allowance. You’re responsible for making sure you stay within your ISA allowance.

Unfortunately we can’t give tax advice so please speak to a tax professional if you need to.

We’ll email you around a week before your investment term ends so you know what to expect.

If your investment includes a final payout, we’ll confirm how much you’ll receive and when it will be paid. The money will be added to your Collective Wallet (or your IFISA Wallet if it’s held in an IFISA). From there, you can choose to withdraw it or reinvest in another project on the Collective.

No worries — as long as you're a member of the Collective, you’re eligible to invest in a project.

If you’ve opted to send any returns you earn to an Octopus Energy account, you’ll want to update your preferences before switching. To do this, go to Menu > Portfolio > Manage returns and select how you’d like to receive future payments.

No problem — moving houses within the UK won’t affect your investments on the Collective. You can update your address at any time by going to Menu > Your account > Contact details.

If you’re switching energy suppliers as part of your move and have chosen to send any returns you earn to your Octopus Energy account, make sure you update your returns preferences before the switch. Head to Menu > Portfolio > Manage returns and select how you’d like to receive future payments.

At the moment, projects listed on the Collective are located on private land, so we ask that you don’t attempt to visit them. Site visits require careful planning and safety checks, so for now, we’ll leave inspections to the experts.

The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) is a government-backed scheme that can sometimes compensate you if you lose money through investing.

The money you invest into projects on the Collective is not protected by FSCS. So you are unlikely to be protected if the project fails or performs worse than expected. Check out our full risks page for more info. 

Octopus Energy is known for its outstanding customer service, and that extends to the Collective. We always aim to resolve issues quickly, so if you have a complaint, please email us at [email protected]. In your email, please include:

• your personal details
• what's gone wrong and the impact it's had on you
• your preferred solution

If you have a complaint about the Collective, please email us first at [email protected] so we can do our best to resolve it. 

If you’re then unhappy with the outcome, or if we weren't able to resolve your issue within eight weeks, you can file a formal complaint with the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). 

FOS is free and impartial, and contacting them at any stage of your complaint will not affect your legal rights.See the FOS website for steps on how to file a formal complaint. 

If FOS finds we haven’t acted correctly, they’ll tell us what we’re required to do in order to put things right. This can include an explanation, apology, and in some cases, compensation.

You have a right under data protection law to access the personal data that we hold about you. The process of requesting your data is called a Subject Access Request (SAR).

To make a SAR, send an email to [email protected] that includes:

• your full name, postal address, email address and telephone number
• the statement “I the undersigned and the person identified above hereby request that The Collective (1) inform me of the personal data held about me OR (2) provide me with a copy of the personal data The Collective hold about me.”
• your signature and the date

When you invest on our platform, we have a regulatory duty to handle your request to invest in a way that gives you the best possible outcome — this is known as “best execution”.

However, investments on the Collective work differently from buying shares or bonds on a stock exchange. In our case, shares or bonds are newly issued by the projects raising funds, and:

• the price and terms are fixed by the project;
• investments are not traded on a stock exchange; and
• applications to invest in projects are processed on a first-come, first-served basis.

• your application to invest is “transmitted” promptly and accurately;
• orders are handled fairly and in the order they are received; and
• you’re allocated investments in line with the project’s offer terms.

When you invest in preference shares on our platform, Octopus Energy Nominees Limited (OECN) holds the shares you own on your behalf. The nominee handles all the administrative work related to being a shareholder, while you benefit from owning the economic value of your shares. For example, any dividends you earn belong to you and you’re entitled to your original investment amount at the end of the investment term.

To manage the OECN nominee structure, we’ve partnered with Woodside Corporate Services Limited, who are authorised and regulated by the FCA (467652) to ensure your shares are held in safe custody.

If you pass away, your investment can be transferred to someone else.

The manager of your estate will need to contact us, and we'll work with them to sort out any cash or active investments in your account.

Projects pay a fee for listing on the Collective, as well as a fundraising fee based on how much they raise. 

Projects on the Collective make money by selling the green energy they generate. 

The Collective is owned by Octopus Energy Group.  

ShareIn is a company we work with to deliver the Collective. They help with lots of things, like processing payments, operations, and providing investor funds services. 

For example, when you top up your Octopus Energy Collective Wallet, your money is held in ShareIn’s client money account.

ShareIn is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). You can find their details on the FCA’s website.

Possibly! If you’re a developer or project owner interested in raising capital through the Collective, head to our Pass the Power page to tell us more about your project and register your interest.