Patient Debt

We’re looking for Established Organisations that have significant trading history (3+ years of trading, generating a cash surplus) and need financial support from a social investor like the Growth Impact Fund.

Key Terms

• Loan Size: £500,000 - £1,500,000
• Interest Rate: 8% - 12% (risk dependent)
• Security: Unsecured Loan Term: 3 - 7 years
• Legal Structure: Any

Why?

We want to help you grow your social enterprise and recognise that traditional finance options might not suit your needs. We are flexible, straightforward, and always prioritise social impact.

Who are you looking to support?

We want to invest into organisations that tackle inequality, and have a commitment to improving diversity, equity, and inclusion. Our target investees have:

• Impact in the UK, (additional impact outside the UK is fine)
• Incorporated status - you might be a Charity, Company Limited by Guarantee, or Company Limited by Shares
• A track record of trading. This could include supplementing your grant income, or a business line you’re looking to pivot from.
• An appetite for growth. You want to take on debt because you can see how it will help your organisation in the future.

What Can We Offer to You?

• £500,000-£1,500,000 of unrestricted funding to spend on hiring new staff, purchasing stock, purchasing an asset, whatever you know is important for your growth.
• Dedicated Investment and Portfolio Managers throughout the life of your loan, to offer a personal face and support throughout your loan.
• Flexible terms and an understanding of how socially impactful businesses work. Measuring social impact is our bread and butter, so we know the challenges and can offer guidance in this area.
• Support and guidance to improve Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, no matter where you are in your DEI journey.

Example Investment Cases

Smile Together

Smile Together is an employee-owned dental practice based in Cornwall. They are the only dentist in Cornwall who are contracted with the NHS to deliver emergency appointments and treatments for disabled patients. In 2018, they contacted Big Issue Invest looking for a £1m loan over 8 years to convert a property into a best-in-class dental centre to deliver NHS dental treatment specifically adapted for people with sensory needs or multiple complex needs. Big Issue Invest gave Smile Together a £1m unsecured loan which allowed them to invest and expand their services, growing their net assets from £1.2m in 2018 to almost £4m in 2022.

A charity client

A charity needs to replace the roof on its current building which should cost £750,000. For the past 5 years (except during the COVID lockdowns), it produced surpluses between £50k-£150k, so has built up some reserves, but does not want to spend this all on the roof repair when this can be better spent on helping its beneficiaries. This charity applies to the Growth Impact Fund and works with an investment manager to set an appropriate level of repayment year on year, and receives £750k to repair its current building, without having to touch its reserves.

Information Sessions

We cover:

• The different investment types we offer
• Eligibility criteria
• What we'll need for your application

Second Thursday of the month at 3pm.

Sign-up on Eventbrite