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Friday December 18th 2009

East London Bond open for investment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The East London Bond has opened for investment, with a cast of prominent supporters and over £1 million already pledged.

The Bond is being offered by Citylife, a national charity that issues charitable bonds like this as a unique way of raising funds for social causes. The yield generated by the East London Bond will be given to the Bromley by Bow Centre and Community Links: two community-based charities working in some of the most deprived areas in England.

At a time when recession has squeezed the budgets of donors – but increased the need for funds to help those who are most vulnerable – the charitable bond mechanism provides an innovative solution. It allows individuals and companies to use their capital to support charity without even giving it away.

The Bond works like this: around 20 per cent of the money raised by the East London Bond will go immediately to charity. The other 80 per cent is loaned to a housing provider to develop affordable housing. After five years the housing provider repays the loan with interest, taking the fund back to its original 100 per cent level, and investors get all their money back.

The combination of a high-value yield for charity and security for the investor was one of the key factors that led Wates Group Ltd to make the first pledge of support for the East London Bond. Paul Drechsler, chairman and chief executive of Wates, explains:

“Wates is proud to have pledged £1 million in the East London Bond” says Paul. “We’re strongly committed to supporting the communities where we work and live and the Bond is an effective and high impact way for us to do that. As the first investor in the East London Bond our ambition is to inspire confidence in other potential investors and see many more companies follow our lead.”

An array of other senior figures have also lined up to give their backing to the East London Bond. Brian Winterflood, life president of Winterflood Securities and one of the Bond ambassadors, says:

“As someone who has invested in a charitable bond with Citylife before – and received all my money back, I can personally vouch for this excellent, tried and tested mechanism. The Bond is a smart, safe and great value way to release funds for charity and to satisfy our social responsibilities.”

Other ambassadors for the East London Bond include Baroness Ford (chair of the 2012 legacy delivery company), Stephen Howard (chief executive, Business in the Community), Sir Bob Kerslake (chief executive, Homes and Communities Agency), Baroness Valentine (chief executive, London First), and Sir David Varney (former executive chairman of HMRC and former chairman of O2).

Tim Jones, chief executive of Citylife, says:

“The charitable bond adds a whole new dimension of philanthropy and corporate social responsibility. It’s no longer just about how much you can afford to give away. With a bond you can now invest your capital securely and make a social profit.”

Citylife is currently developing a number of further charitable bonds to be offered in 2010 and working on plans to launch a new fundraising service for charities next year.

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NOTES TO EDITORS

About Citylife

Citylife is a national charitable organisation supporting causes that give people a better future. It started in 1999 with a mission to bring communities together to tackle unemployment in major cities by issuing bonds as an innovative fundraising tool. It ran bonds in Sheffield, Newcastle, London and the Welsh Coalfields, raising over £10 million of investment and helping thousands into work, training or out of debt.

Now Citylife is offering charitable bonds on behalf of other charities as a unique and innovative way to raise new funds for social benefit.

For more visit www.citylifeltd.org

About Bromley by Bow Centre

The Bromley by Bow Centre is an innovative community organisation in East London. Working in one of the most deprived wards in the UK, each week it supports families, young people and adults of all ages to learn new skills, improve their health and wellbeing, find employment and develop the confidence to achieve their goals and transform their lives. At the core of the Centre’s thinking is its belief in people and their capacity to achieve amazing things.

For more visit www.bbbc.org.uk

About Community Links

Community Links is an innovative charity running community-based projects in East London. Founded in 1977, it helps thousands of vulnerable children, young people and adults every year, with most of its work delivered in Newham, a borough which ranks highly on the index of deprivation. Its successes influence both community-based organisations nationwide and government policy.

For more visit www.community-links.org