Agenda item

The Board received a presentation from Jeff Dober (Head of Social Impact Funds) and Mark Bickford (Senior Fund Manager) from the FSE Group, after which Members of the Board had the opportunity to ask questions.

Mr Dober advised that the FSE Group was a social enterprise with a long history of impact lending. They are an FCA-Authorised fund management, training and consultancy organisation working to develop small and medium enterprises through various funds over the past few years. Members noted that the FSE Group had a blended ethos between financial, social and economic objectives, and an active interest in the social investment sector. Mr Dober stated that most referrals to them were suitable for investment, though the majority needed further development first, and approximately 20% of demand was unsuitable.

Mr Dober discussed the current social sector market, which was a key component of the UK economy estimated at £24billion Gross Value Added. Members noted the FSE’s Social Impact Accelerator (SIA) which provided flexibly-structured loan finance to ambitious social sector organisations, and Mr Bickford detailed a case study of a London-based organisation which provided apprenticeships in construction for disenfranchised young people. In response to Members’ queries, Mr Dober advised that, arguably, there was a trade-off between financial and social return, as organisations were often incurring additional costs by delivering work that purely commercial organisations in the same sector were not doing. This would result in different issues being factored in to the business model and in overheads. Ultimately, the market was trying to encourage the development of creative and sustainable business models to maximise both, and, the Chairman added, this was why the City of London Corporation was keen to develop a universal approach to social impact measurement.

The Chairman thanked Mr Dober and Mr Bickford for their presentation.

RESOLVED – That the presentation be noted.