Social impact tax relief fund launched in the north west

Anne Woolhouse and Liz Allen

A fund to support social enterprises in the north west has been launched by social impact investment company Resonance.

The social impact tax relief fund follows on from the successful model created by existing funds based in the West Midlands and Bristol. These two regional funds have already raised over £4 million of investment and have invested in thirteen social enterprises, to help dismantle poverty and disadvantage in the regions they operate in.

Social impact tax relief was introduced by the Government in April 2014 to encourage investment from individuals into social enterprises – profitable businesses intentionally dedicated to generating social impact and addressing social issues using a business model. It is available to businesses run within three main legal structures: community interest companies, community benefit societies and charities.

The north west fund has been launched as Resonance says it has identified a real need in the area from social enterprises for affordable, patient finance.

Liz Allen, director of The Connectives and a member of the Resonance North West Investment Committee, said: “The north west certainly has a need for social impact investing and the Resonance social impact tax relief fund, as it’s an area that has seen massive cuts in public spending, which means a lot of the services delivered by the public sector have to be delivered by social enterprises. These organisations need access to capital for them to be able to meet the demand.”

Investment Manager at Resonance, Anne Woolhouse, who will be leading the fund, commented: “We are very excited to be launching the Resonance north west social impact tax relief fund, as the latest region with a need clearly identified.

“We have already received anchor investment of £375,000 and are in discussion with a number of potential investors and wealth managers that are keen to invest for social impact as well as financial return.”

Resonance has roots in the north west, having had an office in Manchester for the last seven years.

The fund is now open to investment and already has an established pipeline of social enterprises into which it is considering investing.