We want to create a society that is better able to meet the needs and aspirations of people distant from the labour market. To do this we want to support social entrepreneurs to create solutions at scale.
The UnLtd Impact Fund is a practical finance package for ambitious social ventures who are improving access to employment for those distant from the labour market.
The UnLtd Impact Fund offers your venture:
- A blended loan and grant financing package of between £50,000 and £150,000
- An unsecured business loan at an interest rate of 9.5%
- Repayable over a maximum of five years
- Support from an UnLtd venture support manager, one of our experts in supporting social ventures to scale
We launched the UnLtd Impact Fund thanks to the Growth Fund, managed by Access - the Foundation for Social Investment and with finance provided by The National Lottery Community Fund and Big Society Capital. Over the next three years the UnLtd Impact Fund will back 35 ambitious social ventures with bold solutions to improve people's access to employment.
How we can support you
As well as financial support we can support your social venture to scale in a number of ways.
1-to-1 support
Bespoke support provided by one of our experts. This support will be tailored to your needs and appropriate to the stage of growth your social venture is at.
Expertise & networks
Access to paid for and pro bono support from specialists. Introductions and access to events to build collaborations with organisations in your sector. Access to Hogan Lovells legal support.
Finance
Access to investment of between £50,000 - £150,000. Investment is in the form of a blended loan and grant financing package. The loan element has a 9.5% interest rate and is repayable over a maximum of five years.
Need extra support?
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If you need extra help with governance, business planning or financial management before taking on repayable finance, we can offer a route to grant funding through Access Reach. This is an investment readiness programme that offers grant funding to be spent on work to get you ready for the Impact Fund.
We’ll work with you to find the right support from one of our trusted consultants. You then apply for a grant with our backing. If you’re successful, you can use the grant to pay for consultancy work and to boost your venture’s capacity.
Find out more by getting in touch to discuss the support you require
Frequently asked questions
To apply you must be:
- Based in England
- Focused on employment or employability
- An incorporated voluntary, community or social enterprise orgnisation
- Typically have been operating for at least 21 months
We are agnostic on legal structure, however, Companies Limited by Shares will need an appropriate social mission lock. We look for social ventures who have proof of sales and impact.
Please note that, as the UnLtd Impact Fund is partially funded by the The National Lottery Community Fund, a percentage of our finance package is subject to state aid law, which limits the amount of state aid received over a three year period. We work to the EU’s de minimus level, meaning that social ventures will be ineligible if they have received more than €200,000 over a rolling three year period.
We will be investing in approximately 35 social ventures over three years who operate within the employment sector and are looking to grow their impact. We offer a blended unsecured business loan and grant finance package. The loan element has a 9.5% interest rate and is repayable over a maximum of five years. The level of grant funding is, on average, 15% of the loan amount.
The maximum financial package we offer is £150,000. We are able to co-invest provided the total amount of financing including co-investment does not exceed £150,000. We also seek to ensure the co-investor shares the UnLtd Impact Fund’s values and that co-investment is deemed appropriate. If you are seeking more than this amount in a single funding round, unfortunately, we are unable to invest.
The UnLtd Impact Fund only offers debt investments. However, we are able to co-invest alongside equity investment provided that the equity investor(s) share the UnLtd Impact Fund’s values and that co-investment is deemed appropriate.
The UnLtd Impact Fund supports social ventures whose primary purpose is to increase access to employment. We define social ventures as operating in the employment sector if they operate within:
- School leavers and apprenticeships
- Further Education and Higher Education
- Unemployment and underemployment
- Supporting those distant from the labour market.
Social ventures can access a total financing package of between £50,000 and £150,000. The majority of this funding is by way of a loan, with a grant to the sum of, on average, 15% of the loan amount provided in addition to the loan. The loan is charged at 9.50% interest, and the grant is non-repayable and does not carry interest.
The UnLtd Impact Fund offers a support package tailored to each social venture it supports. Support is led by a dedicated Venture Manager and focuses on:
- Tailored 1-2-1 support: bespoke support, appropriate to the stage of growth the social venture is encountering
- Peer-to-peer learning: same sector collaborations facilitated through introductions and events
- Strategic networks: paid for and pro bono support from consultants, partners and legal firms.
In order to apply, complete an expression of interest. Successful applicants will be invited to complete a full application which will include submission of a financial model.
You can submit your existing model or use our template. Following this assessment, we invite successful applicants to due diligence, at which point we select applicants which we take forward to our Investment Committee and Board.
Before we can provide you with a loan, we will need to undertake due diligence on your social venture. This will include ‘Know Your Customer’ and credit checks together with reviews of your business plan, strategy, financial planning, social purpose and legal structure.
We will work closely with you to understand your business plan and will let you know exactly what information and documentation we require to complete the due diligence process.
The Big Venture Challenge was an accelerator programme which supported growth and used match funding to leverage external social investment.
While incredibly successful, a limitation of the Big Venture was its inability to offer finance itself without a social investor wishing to also invest. This meant that we could not build long-term relationships with social ventures by offering appropriate finance and long-term support.
The UnLtd Impact Fund makes direct investments to social ventures, without the need to match fund against external investment.
David Bartram is UnLtd’s Director of Delivery and Investment. David leads on UnLtd’s work in breaking down the barriers social entrepreneurs face when growing their venture, access to capital being one of these.
Mathu Jeyaloganathan is UnLtd’s Head of Investments. Ben drives UnLtd’s social investment strategy, has oversight of the UnLtd Impact Fund’s portfolio and leads on the business development of new funds.
Josep Biosca is UnLtd’s Investment Manager. Josep is in charge of the UnLtd Impact Fund’s selection and assessment process, taking social ventures to Investment Committee and the fund’s day-to-day running.
Camilla Elwood is UnLtd’s Venture Support Manager. Camilla leads on the UnLtd Impact Fund’s intensive post-investment one-to-one support, and building connections between social ventures within our networks.
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