live
Fund
/ Blended finance
Flexible Enterprise Lending Scheme
A fund delivered by Big Issue Invest offering two products with flexible features.
Flexible Finance for the Recovery
Increasing access to patient and flexible social investment for charities and social enterprises post-Covid
Overview
Flexible Finance addresses gaps in the availability of long-term, flexible investment products, particularly for organisations where financial returns are uncertain or lower than conventional investment thresholds.
The programme supports a different, longer-term, and potentially higher-risk financing need than other Access programmes, such as the Growth Fund. The programme also seeks to attract capital providers with varying risk appetites to blend with grant funding.
How the programme is funded
Launched in 2020, this £22m blended finance programme was designed to increase access to patient and flexible social investment for charities and social enterprises following the Covid-19 pandemic. It is part of a wider £30m initiative funded through Dormant Assets to support the social investment market during Covid-19 and the recovery.
Programme objectives
The programme has three core objectives:
- Expanding access to patient and flexible finance – Supporting investment products that are not widely available in the current market.
- Facilitating capital flow efficiently – Ensuring subsidy is used effectively to unlock additional sources of finance.
- Reaching underserved parts of the market – Including diverse-led organisations and ensuring strong equality-focused practices within funds and investor partnerships.
Governance
The Flexible Finance programme is overseen by our Investment Committee. Details can be found on Our People page.
Partners
Live funds under Flexible Finance
live
Fund
/ Blended finance
Community Shares for the Recovery
A fund to support Community Share projects in underserved areas with matching equity in the form of community share purchases, with additional debt finance alongside where needed.
live
Fund
/ Pre and post investment support
Social Inequality Facility
A fund offering diverse forms of patient and flexible capital (including, but not restricted to, quasi-equity or equity, revenue share agreements, profit share agreements and preference shares).
live
Fund
/ Blended finance
Community Builders Fund
Grant and support alongside loans from the Community Builders Fund to support Black and minoritised ethnicity-led charities and social enterprises.
live
Fund
/ Blended finance
Resonance Community Developers
A fund from Resonance that works with communities to deliver the assets they need to develop and become more resilient.
live
Fund
/ Blended finance
Resonance Enterprise Investments
A fund from Resonance that invests in high impact social enterprises enabling them to access the growth investment they need.
live
Fund
/ Blended finance
Growth Impact Fund
A fund combining technical assistance grants (UnLtd) and investment (Big Issue Invest) to support social purpose organisations.
live
Fund
/ Blended finance
Lending Equal Access Programme (LEAP)
A fund delivered by Charity Bank, providing flexible and patient repayable finance to social sector organisations.
Insights
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9
Investors
-
£22
million
-
38%
investments delivered to Black and Minoritised-led organisations
Find out more
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Blog: A behind the numbers look at our Flexible Finance programme
Learn how Flexible Finance is creating a more inclusive financing ecosystem by intentionally targeting parts of the market that are underserved.
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Blog: A Deep Dive into Fund Construction
A blog summarising the technical design and construction of funds supported by the Flexible Finance subsidy.
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Use of Subsidy Report – Flexible Finance
This report looks at the different applications of subsidy in Access’s Flexible Finance programme. It covers the design of funds in the Flexible Finance programme, and throughout the report data is presented which outlines the intentions and predicted deployment of the funds and the associated use of subsidy.
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Flexible Finance Investment Policy
You can read more about our approach in the Flexible Finance Programme investment policy. You can also see the Theory of Change that informs the programme.
