Our impact
We are a recognised, place-based, impact-led investor. This means we act with authenticity. The positive future our region wants is in reach, and we know how investment can help us get there.
Place making that generates impact
Place-based impact investing, as we have developed it from our Bristol base, marries deep local knowledge of a region with the intentionality of impact investment.
This place making approach enables us to design financial solutions with regional insights and connections, creating financial products that give organisations a better chance of delivering both on revenue and impact goals. For example, we have:
- Enabled a £9m project to build a new purpose-built community centre in an area that ranks among the 10% most deprived nationally.
- Invested in a £6m, 4.2 MW community-owned wind turbine that will provide clean energy for about 3,000 homes.
- Developed 61 homes: 21 at discounted rent for key workers, 27 for long-term ethical market rent, and 13 Rent to Buy homes.
An approach that gets results
In a year when conversations around addressing environmental and social challenges – including the role of the finance sector – were front of mind for many, it’s my great pleasure to introduce our 2022 Impact Report.
Taking the next step
In the West of England, investment is often channelled in a single direction, with external priorities in mind. Organisations solving the region’s problems often can’t raise capital they need without compromising local benefit. But as a Community Interest Company, regional benefit is embedded right into our legal structure.
Rooted in our region and working in partnership with our local communities, we are addressing long standing inequalities, tackling environmental issues, and ethically managing property assets. This all contributes to a healthy, sustainable region that generates a return for investors.
To date, this model has enabled us to raise and place over £50m of impact investment into our region’s purposeful businesses, social enterprises and affordable housing. Now that we’ve proven the model with our ground-breaking City Funds initiative, we’re looking to scale to over £300m in the next two years.
