Member Article

Social enterprises to be supported by new £50m social investment fund

Social enterprise and investment company CAN has announced it is to launch a new £50m social investment fund aimed at supporting charities and social enterprises.

The firm, which provides office space, skills training and investment to social ventures, has enjoyed 120% growth in its commercial property interests, which rose to £40m, putting it in a position to significantly expand its social investment offering.

Through its CAN Mezzanine initiative, it now provides office space for 1,400 individuals working in social impact organisations and thanks to their efforts, spread across five locations in the capital.

It has also recently launched its own accelerator, CAN³, which will provide subsidised desk space and business consultancy to up to ten of the UK’s most promising social ventures.

Andrew Croft, Chief Executive of CAN, explained how the organisation’s strong commercial performance means it is able to offer even more support to social enterprises across the UK.

He said: “This is a very exciting time for CAN and our aim to grow our social mission. We have a healthy income and profit – but, unlike many traditional businesses, we are not measured on our turnover but on the strength of our assets under management mobilised for social purpose.

“CAN is mindful that we earn much of our income from sector organisations. So we’re incredibly pleased that our teams work to create huge leaps in our commercial property value can now be used in direct pursuit of our charitable objectives.

“Just as we have been on a journey to build our own sustainability as a successful, charity-based social enterprise, our success allows us to help other social ventures go on a similar journey.”

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