Zopa Becomes First UK Bank to Secure New ‘Targeted Support’ Regulatory Approval to Close the Advice Gap

Digital bank pioneer Zopa has secured regulatory approval from British authorities to deliver targeted support for its retail investment customers. The milestone makes Zopa the first British bank among the UK’s 350-plus banks and building societies to secure the newly launched permission, positioning it at the forefront of a major shift in how financial institutions guide consumer wealth.

The approval, which stems from a new regulatory framework introduced on April 6, creates a regulatory middle ground designed specifically to sit between generic, one-size-fits-all guidance and fully regulated, costly financial advice.

By gaining this authorization, Zopa can now use customer data and behavioral insights to offer tailored nudges and actionable suggestions. These prompts will give users visibility into the decisions and portfolios of consumers with similar financial profiles, providing a clear pathway for the estimated 15 million Britons currently holding excess cash to start investing with greater confidence.

Dismantling the complexity barrier

Merve Ferrero, chief strategy officer at Zopa Bank

The rollout comes as regulators and fintechs make a concerted push to close the UK’s long-standing “advice gap,” a structural hurdle that has historically left mass-market consumers without the specialized tools needed to transition out of cash savings.

“Investing has felt too complex, intimidating and inaccessible for far too long,” said Merve Ferrero, chief strategy officer at Zopa Bank. “At Zopa, we’re changing that by removing unnecessary jargon and friction, and giving customers the confidence to grow their wealth with peace of mind. Our new permissions allow us to take that mission even further—delivering more tailored support and an intuitive investing experience.”

The sentiment was echoed by Kate Dwyer, head of UK and Northern Europe Distribution at Invesco, who emphasized that targeted support permissions have the potential to significantly drive early-stage investor engagement. “Zopa’s focus on simplicity, education and customer experience is helping to make investing more accessible,” Dwyer stated.

The infrastructure under the hood

Designed primarily for first-time investors looking to make their money work harder, the Zopa Investments platform originally debuted last year in partnership with global asset management giant Invesco, which oversees more than $2trillion in assets.

The platform offers a simplified approach to wealth management via two ready-made portfolios:

• Balanced Fund: Tailored for moderated risk, delivering a historical track record of 4.5 per cent average annual returns.
• Bold Fund: Calibrated for higher growth, achieving 9.3 per cent average annual returns over the same tracking period.

The investment infrastructure is seamlessly integrated into Zopa’s native architecture via API connectivity provided by Berlin-headquartered fintech Upvest. The streamlined, fractionalized setup allows users to open an investment portfolio in minutes, with a minimum entry threshold of just £1.

A position of financial strength

The regulatory milestone follows a period of exceptional financial momentum for the digital lender, which now boasts over 2 million customers. For the financial year ending December 31, 2025, Zopa reported that its profits nearly doubled year-on-year to reach £65million, driven by sustained double-digit asset growth.

The digital bank’s bottom-line performance is heavily supported by its active rollout of internal efficiencies, particularly across its Generative AI framework. Zopa’s proprietary AI setups now manage approximately 45,000 customer service interactions every month, fully automating between 70 and 75 per cent of all incoming servicing requests while elevating overall customer satisfaction (CSAT) benchmarks by 10 per cent.Having previously been highlighted by Chancellor Rachel Reeves as one of the UK’s fastest-growing corporate successes, Zopa’s latest regulatory clearance signals a major evolution in how digital banks intend to cross-sell wealth management products to a traditionally cash-reliant consumer base. Zopa Becomes First UK Bank to Secure New ‘Targeted Support’ Regulatory Approval to Close the Advice Gap

Read More........ → June 16, 2026

UK’s First Geothermal Power Plant Begins Using Underground Heat to Power 10K Homes

The United Downs plant in Cornwall – credit, Thomas Frost Photography / Geothermal Engineering Limited © SWNS

The UK’s first geothermal power plant has just begun operations, using hot water from deep underground to create renewable electricity.

The United Downs plant in Cornwall has been in development for nearly two decades, and will now begin providing enough electricity to power 10,000 homes.

Geothermal power generation comes via energy stored in the form of heat beneath the surface of the Earth. The company behind the project, (GEL) Geothermal Engineering Ltd., had to drill the deepest on-shore well ever drilled on UK soil—over 3 miles deep—to source the geothermal fluid that is used for the power plant.

The naturally heated water, exceeding 190°C, generates electricity 24 hours a day, 7 days a week regardless of the weather.

The water will help drive turbines to generate electricity for 10,000 homes but will also provide the UK’s first domestic supply of lithium, a critical mineral used in green technology.

Dr. Ryan Law, CEO of GEL, said the opening of the power plant is a “huge advancement for geothermal power in the UK.”

“Geothermal energy and critical minerals extraction are naturally complementary as they share the same subsurface resource,” Dr. Law explained. “The hot, mineral-rich fluids that generate clean electricity can also be processed to recover strategic materials like lithium carbonate.”

“Therefore, collocating power and mineral extraction plants maximizes investment in the wells, minimizes subsurface disruption, and accelerates the transition to secure domestic supply in both critical sectors.”

GEL have said the water they’ve brought to the surface after drilling contains one of the highest concentrations of lithium in the world.

Lithium carbonate is a key raw material used in the production of rechargeable batteries like those that power electric vehicles and energy storage systems. From its February, 2026 starting point, GEL says the plant has the capacity to produce 100 tons per annum.

Ground source heat pumps are a form of geothermal technology already used in the UK, and in places like Southampton, heating is provided to hundreds of homes via a local network. But the United Downs project has drilled to far greater depths where temperatures are hot enough to generate more than just heat, but actual electricity.

Furthermore, the project has only cost around $59 million to date, funded through private investors and the EU.

Energy provider Octopus Energy has purchased the power generated at United Downs and will deliver it, via the national grid, to about 10,000 homes.

GEL has two other sites it plans to develop into geothermal power plants, and although one additional site has been initially turned down over environmental concerns, the company is appealing.

Greg Jackson, Founder of Octopus Energy, said UK bills are “still too high” and the answer is “more homegrown, renewable energy.”

“For the first time, we’re bringing deep geothermal power to British homes—a clean, constant energy source right beneath our feet,” he said. “Projects like United Downs show how the UK can cut bills and carbon by tapping every ounce of our renewable potential.” UK’s First Geothermal Power Plant Begins Using Underground Heat to Power 10K Homes:

Read More........ → March 07, 2026

UK’s Sizewell C achieves financing landmark

How the new plant could look (Image: Sizewell C)

The Sizewell C project to build two of EDF’s EPR reactors on England’s east coast has reached Financial Close, including GBP5 billion (USD6.5 billion) in export credit financing by BpifranceAE as well as debt financing from the UK’s National Wealth Fund.

France's EDF, announcing the financial closing of the project, said it would invest a maximum of GBP1.1 billion during the construction period and would have a stake of 12.5%, with the UK government having 44.9%, La Caisse 20%, Centrica 15% and Amber Infrastructure 7.6%.

It added: "EDF will not invest new cash at financial close due to the reimbursement of the development costs incurred since 2015 and a payment in return for the Hinkley Point C project expertise that Sizewell C benefits from, as well as the series effect."

Thirteen banks have supported the GBP5 billion debt raise: ABN Amro Bank; Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria; Santander CIB; BNP Paribas; Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank; CaixaBank; Citibank; Crédit Industriel et Commercial; HSBC Bank; Lloyds Bank; National Westminster Bank; Natixis and Societe Generale.

Sizewell C said "this landmark moment sees funding for the project beginning to flow, unlocking full-scale construction of the Suffolk-based plant".

The plan is for the estimated GBP38 billion Sizewell C plant to feature two EPR reactors producing 3.2 GW of electricity, enough to power the equivalent of around six million homes for at least 60 years. It would be a similar design to the two-unit plant being built at Hinkley Point C in Somerset, with the aim of building it more quickly and at lower cost as a result of the experience gained from what is the first new nuclear construction project in the UK for about three decades. A final investment decision for the Sizewell C project was taken in July this year.

Sizewell C has used the Regulated Asset Base (RAB) funding model, which will see consumers contributing towards the cost of new nuclear power plants during the construction phase. Under the previous Contracts for Difference system developers finance the construction of a nuclear project and only begin receiving revenue when the power plant starts generating electricity.

Sizewell C said the "financing model attracts private investment that would not otherwise be possible. Government estimates that using the RAB can save consumers GBP30 billion, compared with other models, as a result of lower financing costs".

UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said: "By backing nuclear we are creating thousands of high-quality jobs across the country, supporting British supply chains and keeping the lights on with homegrown energy for generations to come."

Tom Greatrex, Chief Executive of the Nuclear Industry Association, the trade association for the UK’s civil nuclear industry, said: "Reaching financial close for Sizewell C is a landmark moment for the UK's clean energy future. It proves that new nuclear can attract significant investment - a vital step towards energy security, skilled jobs, and achieving net zero. The financing model used for Sizewell C is crucial to unlocking further private investment in new nuclear projects, cutting our reliance on fossil fuels, and driving an industrial revival across Britain."

EDF also noted the wider benefits for the French state-owned group: "The EDF group will contribute to the project as a supplier of engineering studies (EDF/Edvance), the main primary circuit including the nuclear boiler, steam generators and safety control system (Framatome) and, for the conventional island, the turbo-alternator unit (Arabelle Solutions). For the French nuclear industry more broadly with some 40 French suppliers, it will help to perpetuate skills, capitalise on experience and generate economies of scale for the EPR2 programme in France."Sizewell C said that Clifford Chance acted as legal adviser, Rothschild & Co acted as lead financial adviser across equity, debt and credit ratings, and BNP Paribas acted as joint debt financial adviser to Sizewell C on the capital raise. HSBC acted as French Authorities and Green Loan Coordinator, alongside Santander CIB as Documentation Coordinator on the GBP5 billion export credit backed facility. UK’s Sizewell C achieves financing landmark

Read More........ → November 13, 2025