Member Article

Durham social enterprises in line for Centrica-backed funding

Two Durham-based social businesses are in line for significant funding following success in a competition run by energy giant Centrica.

Car club operator Co-wheels and public health development organisation Health Squared are among ten winners of the ‘Big Energy Ideas’ competition, and will be able to access between £50k and £2 million.

The competition is funded by Ignite Social Enterprise, a social investment fund backed by Centrica.

Co-wheels, who operate a car share model for members, with vehicles in towns and cities across the UK, say the funding will be used to expand its number of sites and introduce electric bikes to its fleet.

The social enterprise has tapped into growing local authority desire for car sharing - aiming to provide a viable alternative to car ownership with pay-as-you-go motoring.

Director Richard Falconer said: “We had to pitch at Centrica’s head office in London which was a great experience.

“We’re looking for about £450k to expand the number of areas we operate in, and introduce electric bikes to our fleet - offering people another environmentally friendly option for short distance travel.

“We estimate that for every shared car we put on the road, we’re taking 15-20 off the road, because people are choosing us over their own car.”

As a social enterprise co-wheels have expanded into a number of areas that remain unattractive to commercial operators.

Barnard Castle-based Health Squared, who also operate an outpost in Cambodia, said the competition would help them in their efforts to alleviate fuel poverty.

The firm’s Dave Watson, said: “Becoming one of the successful Big Energy Ideas will make a huge difference to us.

“We’ll get expertise from the energy industry to build our business, and hopefully, investment at some point in the next year, which will help us alleviate fuel poverty further in vulnerable households.”

As part of the tailored business support on offer (which brings together industry expertise from The Henley Business School, The Good Analyst, UnLtd and confidence coach Peter Nicholas) the primary objective will be to get each venture investment ready in order to grow its social impact.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .