Better Society Capital

Our latest market sizing reveals the value of social investments in the UK has grown to £10 billion at the end of 2023 🚀 This twelvefold increase over the past 12 years marks a significant milestone for the sector, driven by an increasingly diverse group of investors. Despite economic challenges, the market has continued to demonstrate stability, with sustained investment focused on addressing pressing social issues such as child poverty, homelessness, and long-term health conditions. For the first time this year, we’ve also estimated the investor composition of the market to better understand the appetite for social impact. Our findings show that pension funds are the largest group of investors, making up 21% of the market. They are followed by endowments and charities, which contribute 14%, and asset and wealth managers, who make up 13% of the investor base. With public spending on social issues under significant strain and the new Labour government preparing its first budget, our report is especially timely. We hope to continue working with partners and the Government to shape policies that direct more capital into impactful projects, benefiting society, easing the burden on the Treasury, and supporting the economy. Learn more in our 2023 Market Sizing report: https://lnkd.in/eHfjyyUA

🌱 What geographical areas do our investments reach? We map our investments by local authority and use the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) to assess socioeconomic conditions in areas where our invested organisations operate. While we do not set specific targets according to geography, we utilise the IMD as one measure to help determine whether social investment is reaching communities with the greatest needs. This approach ensures our investment portfolio maintains broad coverage across all UK regions. Swipe below for key statistics highlighting the geographical distribution of our investments across the country🔎

🏠 Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) funds are increasing their allocations to social and affordable housing investments, which helps to address the UK's housing needs while seeking financial returns. Our market sizing estimate found that Pension Funds, including LGPS, are now the largest investors in the social housing sector. This reflects trends we are seeing across asset classes as LGPS funds look for investment opportunities that target positive social outcomes. ✨ Wiltshire Pension Fund is an example of a Local Government Pension Scheme that incorporates social housing in its portfolio while aiming to responsibly manage investments to ensure sufficient returns are generated. The Fund serves employees of Wiltshire Council, local colleges, and town and parish councils. In April 2022, it committed £120 million across three property fund managers, with plans to add another to its housing portfolio. 👇 Discover how Wiltshire Pension Fund is investing in specialised areas within social and affordable housing: https://bit.ly/4ePpry4

🏆 Our Venture team at ImpactVC has partnered with EUVC and Isomer Capital to present the 'Impact Leader of the Year' award at the European VC Awards. This award celebrates a firm that has delivered exceptional positive impact through its investments and practices alongside outstanding financial returns. The winner may be an impact specialist or a generalist firm making significant strides in impact. The evaluation spans multiple categories, including impact performance, impact practices, influence on industry standards, diversity, governance and fairness. 🚀 Learn more about the summit and make your nomination: https://lnkd.in/eBVEw9Q3

For over a decade, Social Outcomes Partnerships or Social Outcomes Contracts (SOCs) have been used to deliver higher-quality public services while driving better value for money. Despite the evidence supporting its effectiveness and benefits, institutional, political, and perception challenges have prevented its large-scale adoption by the public sector. This report from GSG Impact and Bridges Outcomes Partnerships assesses these challenges and provides strategic recommendations aimed at building the conditions necessary for increased uptake of outcomes partnerships by governments: 🎯 Focus on the system change, rather than just the cost efficiencies, that outcomes partnerships can drive. 🤝 Design outcomes partnerships grounded to political and regulatory contexts, aligning innovation with incentives in the public sector. 🌱 Ensuring ecosystem readiness by promoting capacity building, data access and governance, and cross-learning between more experienced and less experienced stakeholders. Read the full report here: https://bit.ly/40E1pSB

🎯 Social Innovation was a key theme at this year's World Economic Forum, with a range of discussions exploring its value as a driver of sustainable development and growth. A groundbreaking global study from the Schwab Foundation and partners reveals that social enterprises now generate $2 trillion in annual revenue, employing 200 million people worldwide. Research from members of the Schwab Foundation's Global Alliance for Social Entrepreneurship also recognises the critical role of social procurement in social entrepreneurship, with 2024 marking a record high for social disruptions to supply chains. These findings show that social innovation has become a transformative force for sustainable development, and we're proud to be part of a growing sector that ensures purpose meets profit. Read the full WEF report to learn how social enterprises are reshaping global supply chains and driving sustainable development: https://lnkd.in/eyz_9bbP #SocialInnovation #WEF

Working in partnership with the Impact Investing Institute, we submitted our response to Government's Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) consultation last week. Key takeaways from our consultation response: 🌱 Place-based impact investing is a powerful tool for driving positive change, and provides a compelling investment opportunity for UK pension funds. 🚀 There are growing opportunities to invest in areas such as social housing, SME finance and renewable energy as well as emerging areas including social infrastructure, natural capital and preventative health. 🤝 A collaborative approach with local authorities and other stakeholders is essential, enabling them to shape investment solutions that are right for their needs. Visit our website to read the full response: https://lnkd.in/ebKpaumR

📢 We're hiring! Our Investment team is looking to onboard a new Investment Manager to help us deliver key portfolio activities, from performance management of portfolio investments to generating portfolio insights and optimising the use of our capital. In this varied role, you will join the team delivering impact investment management activities across our new and portfolio investments. It is an ideal next step for someone with experience as an Investment Associate or similar to step into an Investment Manager role. If you share our passion for improving people's lives and are enthusiastic about developing creative solutions to complex problems, we would love to hear from you. Make your application here: https://lnkd.in/gYy5FaaW

Happy Friday, hope you've all had a great week! Here is a list of the latest job roles and opportunities across the social impact sector: 💻 Shaw Trust is creating a new impact investment programme to fund and support local charities working to improve access to good work for people facing barriers in life. It is looking to hire an Impact Investment Manager who will be driving this new pillar within the Foundation. In this role, you will shape the programme, combining funding, capability building and partnerships to support local organisations working to improve employment and continued education outcomes. 🌟 £50,000 - £60,000 Per Annum 🌟 Remote/ UK-wide Apply Now: https://bit.ly/40mCUHU 💻 Responsible Finance is hiring 2 – 3 Programme Managers to deliver an ambitious Capacity Building programme for business-lending CDFIs and support its growing member base. In this role, you will manage the delivery of key projects and support the Programme Director in overseeing the smooth running of a Programme Management Office (PMO), ensuring that the CEO and Board have the information needed to steer the success of the Programme. 🌟 £33,000 - £35,000 Per Annum 🌟 Remote/London Apply Now: https://lnkd.in/eQp9gPj4 💻ReGenerate is hiring a Policy Manager to drive its policy and advocacy work by educating the Government on how they can support businesses to help tackle social and environmental challenges. Success in the role will require a passion for ReGenerate's mission, experience of working in or with government, and an ability to mobilise senior leaders to drive change. 🌟 £48,000 - £65,000 Per Annum 🌟 Hybrid/ Central London Apply Now: https://lnkd.in/em7_dj2z 💻 The Ubele Initiative is hiring a Programme Manager to support the national delivery of the Agbero 2100 programme. The ideal candidate will have a sharp business mind and a proven ability to strategise and implement high-level program initiatives, and be motivated by the desire to nurture programme success from inception to completion. 🌟 £44,000 - £48,000 Per Annum 🌟 Hybrid/ North London Apply Now: https://lnkd.in/eEzxmDMu 💻 The Ubele Initiative is also hiring a Research, Design and Policy Lead to play an instrumental role in developing and guiding its research policies. This role requires a strategic thinker with a deep understanding of policy design, research methodologies and community engagement. 🌟 £40,000 - £44,000 Per Annum 🌟 Hybrid/ North London Apply Now: https://lnkd.in/eEzxmDMu #Vacancies #SocialImpact

Yesterday, our team came together to celebrate a fantastic away day at Coin Street Neighbourhood Centre. The day was all about connection and collaboration, and exploring bold opportunities to create a step-change in impact over the next phase of our strategy. 📣 Highlights included a panel discussion with Emily Bolton MBE from Our Future, Vanessa Morphet from The Church of England, Jennifer Murray from Homes England and Paul Kirby from Zinc. Moderated by our MD James Burrows, the conversation explored how we can work together more effectively to build stronger ties across the sector, addressing the UK's most pressing social challenges. 👇 Below are a few snapshots from the day, summarising the ideas and discussions shared—setting a solid foundation for our journey ahead. #Collaboration #SocialImpact