Big Society Capital's £7.9 Billion Market — Impressive Until You Try to Borrow From It

The social investment market has grown from £830 million in 2011 to £7.9 billion in 2021. That’s nearly a tenfold increase in a decade. Big Society Capital’s data shows over 1,600 social investment commitments in the year, with 82% going to organisations outside London and 60% to the most deprived communities.

By any normal measure, that’s a success story. The market that barely existed in 2011 is now substantial, professional, and reaching the communities that need it most.

And most CICs still can’t access any of it.

I keep coming back to this point because it’s the defining frustration of my time in the CIC movement. The social investment market has grown beyond anything we could have imagined in 2005. But the growth has been concentrated in housing, large-scale infrastructure, and established organisations with track records and asset bases. The typical CIC — the small community enterprise with five staff and a turnover of £200,000 — is still too small, too risky, or too unfamiliar to register on most social investors’ radar.

The numbers tell the story. Of the 1,600 social investment commitments in 2021, the vast majority went to organisations with turnovers over £1 million. The average deal size is measured in hundreds of thousands, not tens of thousands. The due diligence process is designed for organisations that have professional finance functions, not for community groups running on goodwill and spreadsheets.

Big Society Capital’s 2021-2025 strategy targets a £10-15 billion market by 2025, with a focus on social property, impact venture, social lending, and social outcomes. Those are worthy priorities. But none of them specifically address the question of how a small CIC in a deprived community accesses £30,000 to expand its services.

I’m not expecting the social investment market to solve every problem. But I am expecting that a market that has grown tenfold in a decade should have found a way to reach the organisations it was supposed to serve. At £7.9 billion, the excuses are wearing thin.