March 3, 2025

Broker Trends and Opportunities – March 2025

Social Impact Lending – Criteria or Creed?

Social impact lending, or social impact finance, supports businesses and entities that benefit communities and create social impact.

As a commercial finance broker or advisor, what comes to mind when you encounter social impact cases?

If it’s a sector you’re less familiar with, does the criteria seem prohibitive? Do you know the active lenders in this sector? And how social impact finance cases differ in assessing affordability and viability?

Have declines from social impact lenders made you hesitant to approach them with suitable cases?

By understanding who it can help, the types of finance available, and how clients are assessed, we see the social impact sector as an opportunity to not only support good causes, but enhance your business’s Unique Selling Proposition (USP).

Key Sectors Supported by Social Impact Finance:
  • Arts
  • Charities
  • Community projects
  • Education
  • Environmental
  • Faith
  • Health and Care
  • Social/Affordable housing
  • Sports
Key Social Impact Lenders include, but aren't limited to:

Charity Bank

Charity Bank supports the social sector with a UK-wide network of regional managers who understand the unique needs of charities and social enterprises. Over the past 20 years, they’ve made more than 1,250 loans worth £500 million.

Co-operative Bank

The Co-operative Bank supports charities, co-operatives, and social enterprises with £30 million of loan funding for 2024. Eligible clients must be registered as a charity, co-operative, credit union, community interest company, or other not-for-profit organisation.

Big Issue Invest

Big Issue Invest, part of the Big Issue Group, finances sustainable social enterprises to tackle poverty and inequality. They offer loans and investments from £20,000 to £4 million and have invested in over 300 social enterprises and charities since 2005.

Reliance Bank

Reliance Bank has supported charities and businesses for 134 years, prioritising lending to organisations that deliver positive social impact. They provide competitively priced loans and commercial mortgages for business expansion and working capital in sectors like health and social care, social housing, education, and more.

Finance Available in the Social Impact Sector:
  • Loans (commonly secured)
  • Mortgages
  • Development Finance
  • Bridging Finance

Lending is available to entities such as charities, Community Investment Companies (CIC), co-operatives, not-for-profit entities, and limited companies, but not to individuals.

In conclusion

Understanding the missions and criteria of social impact lenders helps identify viable opportunities.

Their criteria aren’t roadblocks but a means to fund the right clients who may not find support elsewhere. Social and charitable enterprise clients often don’t fit mainstream commercial lending criteria, but this is a segment where you can add value.

Introducing suitable clients to the appropriate lenders means you’ve often already cleared their criteria hurdles, making social impact finance a valuable part of your business creed.

Mark Grant, Managing Director, Fiducia Commercial Network.
March 2025.

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About Fiducia Commercial Network

Fiducia Commercial Network is a commercial finance ‘Appointed Representative’ network created to allow independent firms to provide commercial property finance and trading business finance options to their existing client base and network.

Joining the network provides opportunities for professional brokers to offer a full range of commercial finance solutions by acting as an Appointed Representative (AR) with the full support of the Fiducia Commercial Network team.

The Fiducia Commercial Network membership includes FCA authorisation and reporting, PI insurance, and NACFB membership, plus business, compliance, finance, system, and admin support from a company with over 20 years’ experience in commercial finance.

If you’d like to discuss joining Fiducia Commercial Network or you’d like to apply to become an Appointed Representative…

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