How we invest

You can find out more about how our investments work and the impact that they are having through these case studies of the investments that we have made so far:

Nesta Impact Investment

Impact Investment fund addressing, Youth Unemployment, Elderly Care and Community Exclusion

Big Society Capital has made a commitment of £8,000,000 to Nesta Impact Investment Fund, a fund which will be managed by Nesta Investment Management LLP (NIM) – an FSA-authorised wholly-owned subsidiary of Nesta. Nesta’s mission is to help people and organisations bring great ideas to life by providing investments and grants and mobilising research, networks and skills.

BII/ELM

Helping the financially excluded

Big Society Capital has invested £950,000 through the social investment finance intermediary Big Issue Invest into East Lancashire Moneyline (ELM). BSC has invested alongside RBS Micro Finance Fund and The Social Enterprise Loan Fund (TSELF).

DWP Innovation Fund

Supporting young people into education, employment and training

The DWP announced a package of measures in May 2011 to help address youth unemployment through tailored programmes designed to help disadvantaged young people participate and succeed in education and training, thereby improving their future employability. The package commissioned under the Innovation Fund of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will deliver a payment-by-results scheme.

Essex Social Impact Bond

First local authority Social Impact Bond, addressing issue of children in care

Big Society Capital has committed to invest £825,000 into Essex Social Impact Bond alongside seven other investors to raise a total of £3.1 million. This is the first local authority commissioned Social Impact Bond.

Resonance

Making loans to provide affordable rental properties in local communities

Big Society Capital has made a £2,500,000 secured loan to Community Land & Finance CIC (CLFCIC), a subsidiary of impact investment firm Resonance Limited.

ClearlySo

Assisting social impact funds in productively investing their capital

Big Society Capital has made a £1,000,000 staged investment to support ClearlySo, a social finance intermediary with over 12 years’ sector experience.

PURE the Clean Planet Trust

Providing small, low interest loans to communities to meet the costs of installing renewable energy equipment

Big Society Capital has invested £1,000,000 to PURE to provide small, low interest loans to communities to meet the costs of installing renewable energy equipment, and is keen to support all technologies eligible for the Feed-In-Tariff or Renewable Heat Incentive. PURE will normally lend up to 50% of project costs to a maximum of £50,000.

Investing for Good

Building the charity bond market

Big Society Capital has made a £875,000 secured loan to The Social Investment Market CIC Ltd ('SIMCIC' is the FSA regulated subsidiary of Investing for Good CIC Ltd) to enable SIMCIC to underwrite the issuance of a fixed income bond in order to build the market for further issuance by charities and social enterprises.

Community Generation Fund

Generating renewable energy in deprived areas

Big Society Capital has committed to invest £750,000 (alongside £500,000 from the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation) in the Community Generation Fund, managed by the FSE Group.

Franchising Works Licence Fund

Creating jobs in disadvantaged areas through start-up finance for new businesses

When jobs are scarce, self-employment can seem an attractive but risky option. However, franchising is a form of supported self-employment and is very sustainable - 90% of franchise businesses are still operating after 5 years and many can be started with little experience, training and cost.

Social Stock Exchange

Supporting responsible businesses to find the capital to grow

There are many innovative and pioneering social sector organisations developing solutions to major social problems. Some have the potential to scale up their activities and increase their social impact, but lack access to the right finance to do this.