Rock supports the Rock Oyster Festival and the small Cornish village after which it is named

The Rock Oyster Festival brings together the local community and music lovers from across the country to celebrate a weekend of musical talent and to support many local Cornish charities at the same time. It has been called ‘the most eccentric little festival around’  – a festival where for two glorious days and nights each summer festival goers can be part of the bohemian party scene of North Cornwall.

When Rock’s founder Mark Swindell set up Rock in 2011, he chose to name his company after the small Cornish village he holds so dear and where he spends much of his spare time.

This year Rock is thrilled to have supported the event by sponsoring the ‘Rock Road’ – a new temporary road that provided the thousands of festival goers with easy and safe access to and from the festival site.

Over the past 5 years the festival has raised over £10,000 for local charities and community initiatives. This year the festival is supporting the Mount Hawke Skate Park charity (1) and Cornwall Hospice Care(2).

For more information on Rock Oyster Festival click here.

To find out more about Rock’s involvement with local communities and charities please click here.

(1) Mount Hawke Skate Park has been established for over 30 years and provides Cornwall with one of the country’s largest indoor skate parks. The volunteer based charity runs out reach activities for schools and groups with their aims to get kids more active and teach them skateboarding, scooter and cycling skills. Their work promotes fitness and encourages creativity, leadership focus, confidence and teamwork.

(2) Cornwall Hospice Care is a Cornish charity that provides specialist care for people with terminal illnesses 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. As well as clinical teams who support in and out patients and their families, the charity runs a 24-hour advice line for healthcare professionals and educational programmes to support healthcare workers of the future.

 

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Driving Net Zero: How Rock Road 
Is Funding the UK’s Bus Transition

Accelerating the shift to clean, affordable, zero-emission transport

Year
2025
Category
Rock Road
Share

The Challenge

The UK bus network is at the heart of everyday travel – but over 30,000 diesel buses still need replacing to achieve a fully zero-emission fleet.

While around 5,000 battery-electric buses are already on the road, the high upfront cost of electric vehicles and depot electrification continues to slow the transition. Traditional funding routes — such as government grants or short-term bank finance – have helped start the journey but cannot support decarbonisation at the scale required.

A new, sustainable funding model was needed: one that could attract long-term capital, spread costs fairly, and give operators and authorities confidence in the future.

The Solution

In 2021, Rock launched Rock Road to deliver exactly that –  applying its proven infrastructure financing approach from the rail sector to the UK’s clean bus revolution.

Working with Aviva, the National Wealth Fund, and HSBC, Rock created a dedicated investment platform that channels infrastructure-style finance from pension funds and institutional investors directly into zero-emission bus projects.

This model provides:

Impact

The platform has already raised £100 million, with capacity to scale to £1 billion per year over the next decade – providing a consistent source of affordable capital for local authorities and operators.

Rock’s model ensures that the total cost of ownership (TCO) of electric buses can now be lower than diesel equivalents, thanks to both cheaper long-term finance and reduced operating costs.

In London, Rock has financed 120 zero-emission buses under 7-year leases aligned with Transport for London’s contract lengths. This structure gives operators flexibility and certainty:

The Future

Rock Road’s ambition is to support the rollout of zero-emission fleets across the UK – helping local authorities and operators meet climate goals without overextending public budgets.

By leveraging limited government funding to attract large-scale private capital – for example, £10 million of public investment unlocking over £250 million in total funding – Rock’s model accelerates decarbonisation while keeping costs low for the public sector.

Our ambition is to make electric buses the default choice - not because of subsidy, but because they are the best economic and environmental option.
Louis Swindell
Commercial Director, Rock Road