Agenda item

The Board received a presentation from Matt Robinson and Travis Hollingsworth from Big Society Capital (BSC), after which Members of the Board had the opportunity to ask questions.

Mr Robinson gave a brief history of BSC, which was set up two and a half years ago in order to grow the UK social investment market. This was achieved through championing the market (e.g. working with and educating organisations, and improving policies), and as an investor. Mr Robinson advised that there was more capital available and a broader range of investors since BSC’s formation; more products were available, including Social Impact Bonds, new funds focused on unsecured lending, and retail charity bonds, which gave greater choice and diversity. The Social Investment environment was also developing, with more support for organisations in becoming investment-ready (through help from funds such as Stepping Stones). Members noted that the Social Investment Tax Relief was a key part of this, with credit due to the work done by the Social Investment Advisor and the Corporation.

BSC was now making sense of this diversity, disaggregating the market into clusters of activity and investigating how to invest around these themes to cover them all. Mr Hollingsworth advised that Monday 14th December would see the launch of the Business Impact Challenge, which would act as a catalyst for strategic discussion between organisations.

In response to Members’ queries, Mr Robinson advised that £300m of BSC’s £600m had been drawn down from funding sources. £200m of that had been committed, with every commitment being matched by a co-investor, and nearly £80-90m been placed (both BSC’s and co-investors’ capital). With regard to where the greatest need was for social investment, Mr Robinson advised that this was difficult to pinpoint; lots of organisations were looking for unsecured debt, and there was also a need to blend BSC’s investments smoothly with others. Mr Hollingsworth added that key areas of social impact included health and social care, changes in the NHS, and social inclusion.

In response to a Member’s query regarding the role that the Social Investment Board could play in market development, Mr Robinson advised that the Corporation had a greater degree of access, and partnership working - particularly regarding regulatory based involvement - had far-reaching impact, such as the Social Investment Tax Relief scheme. In terms of Social Technology, it was noted that the potential link between social investment and “Innovate Finance”, a new organisation of which CoL was lead supporter and which sought to support technology-led financial services innovators, was being explored by the Economic Development Office.

The Chairman thanked Mr Robinson and Mr Hollingsworth for their presentation.

RESOLVED – That the presentation be noted.