Better Society Capital

Today we publish our annual Impact Report. The report provides an update on the progress we have made, alongside our partners, towards achieving our mission—to grow the amount of money tackling social issues in the UK. Over the past year, we have committed £68 million alongside 50 new co-investors, unlocking £400 million in co-investment. This has enabled our fund managers to support over 250 impact-led organisations working across outcome areas such as housing, employment, education, health, and financial inclusion, reaching some of the UK’s most underserved areas. Capturing the impact that our capital and market building activities enable holds us to account against our mission, but also in illustrating to the wider market how powerful social impact investing can be. But this impact is not ours, we contribute to it, alongside our fund managers, co-investors, and the enterprises that provide the much-needed services. We look forward to continuing to work alongside social investment partners, empowering enterprises and charities that are improving the lives of people across the UK. Read the full report here: https://lnkd.in/empXz2ze #ImpactReport #SocialImpact

Our Communications Director, Emma Jones, joined the Investing in Women Code Summit last week to reflect on progress since the Code’s launch and explore how we can better support women across the investment ecosystem. 🤝 The Investing in Women Code (IWC) is a commitment to advancing women's entrepreneurship in the UK by improving access to finance, tools and resources from the financial services sector. As one of three LP signatories, we’re proud to support the movement towards a more diverse and inclusive business environment. Every year, we contribute to mapping the gender diversity of the social investment landscape by providing data on the diversity of our Fund Managers through our EDI Fund Manager Survey. We also encourage all our fund managers to strengthen their own diversity practices through our EDI Due Diligence Framework, developed using best practice insights from sector experts. While 280 signatories have adopted the Code so far, last week’s discussion highlighted the pressing need for further action to improve gender diversity across the sector. Currently, only 2% of venture capital goes to all-women founded businesses, despite evidence showing that women-led businesses generate 35% higher returns on investment. 📢 We’re calling on all LPs to join this crucial conversation and become signatories of the IWC – a collective effort that could unlock significant economic value. Research shows that if women started and scaled businesses at the same rate as men, it could add up to £250 billion to the UK economy. If you’d like to learn more about the IWC and how to get involved, please reach out to our ESG and EDI Manager, Annelise Sauter.

We visited Falcon Boat Club in Oxford today, alongside the MP for Oxford East, Anneliese Dodds, to see first-hand the excellent facilities and learn more about its work with the local community. 🚣 Falcon is one of the oldest rowing clubs in Oxford, offering a space for residents to come together, form friendships, learn new skills and stay active. A core part of Falcon’s ethos is building and maintaining strong links with community groups across Oxford and Oxfordshire. Its ambitions include changing the culture and structure of sport to ensure it is accessible to all members of society, enabling everyone to realise their talent and full potential. The club used social investment from Sporting Assets to help finance the construction of its new clubhouse, which opened in 2022. 💡 During the visit, Ms Dodds toured the facilities with volunteers from the club, before meeting with our team, and representatives from Sporting Assets and Access - The Foundation for Social Investment. Together, we discussed how Falcon Boat Club successfully utilised social impact investment to provide a vital community asset for locals. Our CEO, Stephen Muers, commented on the visit and said, "It is always fantastic to be able to show politicians the impact that these enterprises have, and we are glad to have joined our partners in playing a part in supporting them through social investment." Swipe below for snapshots from the visit 👇

A year ago, we commissioned ATQ Consultants Ltd to update their independent 2022 review of the value of the UK Social Outcomes Market to date. The refreshed report confirms that Social Outcomes Contracts (SOCs) have delivered significant returns on investment for commissioners. For every £1 spent by commissioners, SOCs have generated an estimated £9 in value. 💡 In total, SOCs have created an estimated £1.86bn in value — a substantial return for Government, with £507m of total fiscal value generated across the 86 SOCs reviewed to date. 🚀 In the health sector alone, the report highlights that outcomes contracts have helped reduce demand on the National Health Service (NHS), delivering total savings of £128.6 million at a corresponding cost to commissioners of just £26.63 million. At a time when NHS resources are stretched and funding is stagnating, this evidence demonstrates how the adoption of outcomes contracting can help the country spend significantly less on treating preventable conditions. For more insights into this research, visit our website: https://lnkd.in/e86CvExV

🌱 Our Engagement team members are at the Eden Project in Cornwall this week, attending Anthropy UK, the nation's largest gathering of future makers, to explore how we can work together to build a better Britain. Yesterday, our Executive Director, James Westhead, joined a panel alongside Sir Tim Smit, founder of the Eden Project. He highlighted the important role social investment plays in encouraging a sense of belonging for diverse communities, helping to tackle social isolation and division. From community-owned pubs and leisure centres to renewable energy initiatives, he shared a range of examples that show how social investment can make a real difference across the UK. James also shared how this sense of belonging isn’t just good for people, it’s also good for business. When people feel included, it unlocks new ideas and innovation for companies and communities alike. 🚀 We’re proud to be part of the conversation at Anthropy, connecting with leaders and changemakers who share our ambition for lasting impact. If you’re attending and looking to discuss all things social impact, please get in touch with James Westhead, Melanie Mills, Hannah Millard or Claire Kearney. #SocialImpact #Anthropy25

🌱 We're pleased to share our investment into Thriving Investments' newly launched £200m essential-worker housing fund, alongside co-investors Greater Manchester Pension Fund, Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) and Places for People (PfP). 🏠 Aiming to build a £200 million portfolio over the next three years, the New Avenue Living Greater Manchester Housing Fund will create 1,000 affordable, new-build homes for essential workers, offering rents discounted to a maximum of 80% of open market rates in the Greater Manchester area. The completed homes will be managed by Touchstone Residential Property Management, the specialist property management arm of PfP Group. With an initial £10 million debt financing loan provided by GMCA, the Fund structure provides a blueprint for how public and private capital can work together to deliver place-based impact projects across the UK.  We're proud to support Thriving Investments’ ambition to replicate this strategy across a number of key regional UK cities at scale, and look forward to seeing the delivery of this innovative funding model in Manchester. To learn more, read IPE Real Assets's article here👇 https://lnkd.in/e9qz3F73

🌱 As we work towards our mission to grow the amount of money tackling social issues in the UK alongside our partners, we recognise the importance of accountability and sharing the collective progress we have made over the past year, including key learnings and challenges along the way. By sharing these reflections in our annual Impact report, we ultimately aim to ensure more capital reaches frontline organisations, whose efforts are at the heart of delivering the positive social outcomes we seek to achieve. A key focus of this year's report is the impact of our investments and market-building efforts in creating a social outcomes market that improves the lives of people with complex needs while enhancing value in public service delivery. 💡 We were pleased to see that last year, our investments enabled better interventions and outcomes through collaborative design, flexible delivery and clear accountability structures. We were also encouraged to see support from the new Government for Social Outcomes Contracts (SOCs), with former Prime Minister Gordon Brown advocating for a £1 billion social impact fund to help tackle child poverty. Swipe below for more social outcomes highlights across a range of areas, including health, employment and training, homelessness, and children and family services 👇

💡 Last week, the Chancellor unveiled a new strategy for the National Wealth Fund (NWF), aligning with Government's Plan for Change. With an ambitious target to unlock £70 billion in private investment, the Fund is set to drive economic growth and create high-skilled jobs across the UK. NWF’s new strategic focus on clean energy, advanced manufacturing, digital technologies, and transport presents exciting opportunities for innovation and impact. It will continue to focus on delivering measurable impact, exploring blended finance solutions to support government policy objectives and make the most effective use of public funds. 🎯 Blended finance is an approach that intentionally uses public resources to attract more private capital. It aims to make investment more appealing to commercial investors who may otherwise be cautious about the risks involved, particularly those linked to large-scale infrastructure projects. There are lessons to be learned for the NWF from the social impact investment sector’s use of blended finance, which balances risks, returns and impact. Our Policy and Advocacy Manager, Jovana Lalic, explores this approach further and shares valuable insights on how we can help the NWF effectively mobilise private capital to achieve its goals. Read the full blog to learn more: https://lnkd.in/e2pQHM-M

Our mission to reduce inequalities in the UK drives everything we do, from our market-building work within the social impact investment sector to our investments across a range of private market asset classes. Central to this commitment is our approach to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) practices. Our recently published Impact report outlines our EDI and ESG commitments and initiatives — and the positive impact they have had on our organisation and the wider social impact investment sector. Key highlights include: 🚀 Outperforming industry averages: Our portfolio of fund managers and social banks exceeds industry averages in gender identity diversity, compared to the wider private equity and venture capital industry. 🤝 Driving improved EDI practices: Through our EDI due diligence (DD) assessment, we have supported fund managers in enhancing their EDI practices, resulting in increased diversity in decision-making bodies and improved reporting since we invested. 🌱 Supporting sector-wide change: We continue to champion market-building initiatives, including the Diversity Forum's Data Project to enhance diversity data collection across the sector, and the Equalising Deal Terms Project, which addresses the power imbalance between investors and investees. To find out more about our EDI approach and our initiatives to understand diverse representation across our portfolio, visit: https://lnkd.in/eYX4ifah

📢 Debt Awareness Week aims to shine a light on the impact of debt stigma and encourage conversations about debt worries. It’s also an opportunity to share resources to help people manage their finances and reduce the risk of falling into debt. We’re proud to spotlight Wagestream, a venture we support through the Fair By Design Fund, which helps employees avoid debt by giving them access to wages they’ve already earned. Mainstream financial services can often overlook workers on the lowest incomes, leaving them vulnerable to financial stress. Wagestream aims to address this issue by providing tools that help employees build financial resilience, including the opportunity to create a savings pot — support that can be especially helpful when faced with unexpected bills or expenses. 📈 Over the years, it has helped improve financial wellbeing for millions of employees, driving a positive value loop for employers, employees and the business itself. In 2024 alone, Wagestream members set aside £68 million in savings, with 72,000 users starting to save for the first time in their lives. To learn how social investment can help companies with an impact mission like Wagestream to scale, visit: https://lnkd.in/ebKV28gp