Profit with Purpose Insight Report
Hidden Social EnterprisesUnity Trust is a commercial bank with a difference; we only work with organisations and businesses who want to help create a better society.
Why now?
There has never been a more important time to address the role of alternative business models in the UK. Slow real wage growth relative to inflation has placed more individual households into the “just about managing” category.
This should be the moment for socially conscious businesses; companies that are motivated by social or environmental goals rather than solely by the pursuit of profit.
They may make profit, after all some form of surplus is critical to invest in a better future, but they do not have profit as their only motivation and will often reinvest that profit in their employees or in the social objectives that they set out to achieve. Because of this, they potentially offer a stakeholder- based way of operating that doesn’t necessarily make less money but will make that money in pursuit of social and environmental objectives, reinvesting accordingly.
We focus on delivering positive social impact, not simply maximising profit. This is known as our ‘double bottom line’ strategy.
In October 2017, we surveyed 1,050 UK companies to gain a better understanding of what it means to be a ‘Socially Conscious Business’.
We set out to:
— Understand the differences between mainstream and socially conscious businesses
— Estimate the size of the market for socially conscious business
— Better understand their needs
Established over 30 years ago with a vision to create a bank that would serve the needs of its customers and enrich society, our purpose is to enable organisations to prosper, and contribute to economic, community, and environmental change.
Based in Birmingham, we offer an ethical alternative for organisations and businesses with a social conscience.
02 Unity Trust Bank Profit with Purpose
turnover for over 30% of the Socially Conscious Businesses sample, and more than 50% of turnover for a further 29% of those sampled.
Socially Conscious Businesses operate across a wide range of sectors, and although they are more likely to operate in education, health and welfare-related areas, ICT and professional services also have a substantial number of Socially Conscious Businesses’.
Geographically, Socially Conscious Businesses are widespread throughout the UK.
Methodology
This report was produced in collaboration with Dr Rebecca Harding for Unity Trust Bank.
The methodology was survey based, sampling a business population in the UK rather than specifically UK social enterprises. It surveyed 1050 businesses comprising of 276 founders and 774 senior decision makers from companies of any size. The survey was conducted online Quarter 4 2017 by Research Now. No samples or quotas were set by sector or region.
44% of these Socially Conscious Businesses are for profit, private limited companies; they are not charities and have legal structures consistent with investment led growth:
— 18% of them paid a dividend to directors
— Nearly 30% paid a dividend to shareholders
— Just over 70% reinvested some or all of their surplus and
— 25% shared any surplus with their workforces.
Socially Conscious Businesses have much larger workforces and turnovers than expected, with nearly 30% having turnovers greater than £500 million.
Compared to mainstream businesses, Socially Conscious Businesses have an increased share of job growth, making up 29% of businesses who created between 50 and 99 jobs, and 25% of businesses creating between 100 and 249 jobs.
The survey revealed that sources of income for Socially Conscious Businesses were similar to those of mainstream businesses. Over 80% of Socially Conscious Businesses generate all or part of their turnover from sales, with revenues comprising 100% of
We found that as many as 66% of the 1,050 companies surveyed had social or environmental objectives as part of their business goals. Interestingly, 22% of UK businesses have social or environmental objectives as their main motivation.
Unity Trust Bank Profit with Purpose 03
30.5
20.8
45.3
51.7
33.0
12.7
36.0
29.7
17.6
1.2 4.5
10.5
4.8
13.7
29.1
8.3
3.3
12.79.5
5.3 1.0 2.0
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
% o
f res
pond
ents
Follo
wing
idea
or d
ream
Helpi
ng ot
hers
follo
w
an
idea
or d
ream
Pursu
it of m
arke
t opp
ortu
nity
Pursu
it of p
rofit
Achie
ving s
omet
hing d
iffere
nt
in
the m
arke
t plac
e
Deve
loping
scien
tific o
r
ac
adem
ic re
sear
ch
Crea
ting a
pos
itive i
mpa
ct
fo
r sta
keho
lders
Mak
ing a
differ
ence
Shar
ehold
er re
turn
Othe
rNo
ne
General motivations (% of respondents) Primary motivations (% of respondents)
What is a Socially Responsible Business?
To understand what differentiates a Socially Responsible Business from the mainstream we questioned respondents about their motivations for being in business and asked them to select the most important factors.
General and primary motivations
Making a positive social impact is the most important aim for 60% of Socially Conscious Businesses.
For 18% it is making a positive environmental impact, where as for 17% it is creating jobs.
We asked 1,050 respondents to select as many motivations as they wanted from a series of options that might be business goals. If respondents selected ‘creating a positive impact for stakeholders’ or ‘making a difference’, we then asked them to identify their most important business objective.
30.5
20.8
45.3
51.7
33.0
12.7
36.0
29.7
17.6
1.2 4.5
10.5
4.8
13.7
29.1
8.3
3.3
12.79.5
5.3 1.0 2.0
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
% o
f res
pond
ents
Follo
wing
idea
or d
ream
Helpi
ng ot
hers
follo
w
an
idea
or d
ream
Pursu
it of m
arke
t opp
ortu
nity
Pursu
it of p
rofit
Achie
ving s
omet
hing d
iffere
nt
in
the m
arke
t plac
e
Deve
loping
scien
tific o
r
ac
adem
ic re
sear
ch
Crea
ting a
pos
itive i
mpa
ct
fo
r sta
keho
lders
Mak
ing a
differ
ence
Shar
ehold
er re
turn
Othe
rNo
ne
General motivations (% of respondents) Primary motivations (% of respondents)
30.5
20.8
45.3
51.7
33.0
12.7
36.0
29.7
17.6
1.2 4.5
10.5
4.8
13.7
29.1
8.3
3.3
12.79.5
5.3 1.0 2.0
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
% o
f res
pond
ents
Follo
wing
idea
or d
ream
Helpi
ng ot
hers
follo
w
an
idea
or d
ream
Pursu
it of m
arke
t opp
ortu
nity
Pursu
it of p
rofit
Achie
ving s
omet
hing d
iffere
nt
in
the m
arke
t plac
e
Deve
loping
scien
tific o
r
ac
adem
ic re
sear
ch
Crea
ting a
pos
itive i
mpa
ct
fo
r sta
keho
lders
Mak
ing a
differ
ence
Shar
ehold
er re
turn
Othe
rNo
ne
General motivations (% of respondents) Primary motivations (% of respondents)
04 Unity Trust Bank Profit with Purpose
For comparative purposes, three other groups were also created within mainstream businesses:
— Innovation-based: those who wanted to achieve something different in the market place or were pursuing scientific research
— Entrepreneurial: those who were pursuing a dream or helping others to pursue a dream
— Market-focused: those who were motivated by profit or giving a dividend to shareholders
For the purpose of this report, unless otherwise stated, Socially Conscious Businesses refers to the 22% of all organisations surveyed.
The responses to these two questions produce the definitions used in this report:
Socially Conscious Businesses
Either producing a positive outcome for stakeholders or making a difference is their primary motivation.
Taken as a proportion of UK businesses this equates to 1.2 million businesses.
22% 78% MainstreamAll other motivations.
Taken as a proportion of UK businesses this equates to 4.29 million businesses.
Socially Aware
Being either motivated by the desire to produce a positive outcome for stakeholders or to make a difference either socially, environmentally, or in terms of job creation.
Taken as a proportion of UK businesses this equates to 3.6 million businesses.
66%
Unity Trust Bank Profit with Purpose 05
63.3
43.9
11.8
39.5
12.4
6.8
4.6
4.9
7.9
4.9
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Mainstream (%)
SociallyConsciousBusinesses (%)
% of respondents
Private Limited Company Redistributive or not for profit
Company Limited by Guarantee Sole Trader Partnership
63.3
43.9
11.8
39.5
12.4
6.8
4.6
4.9
7.9
4.9
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Mainstream (%)
SociallyConsciousBusinesses (%)
% of respondents
Private Limited Company Redistributive or not for profit
Company Limited by Guarantee Sole Trader Partnership
What is the legal structure of Socially Conscious Businesses?
Legal structure by type of business
Socially Conscious Businesses are investible.
They are large and to a substantial extent, have legal structures consistent with investment-led growth. Companies limited by guarantee and not for profits
are traditionally associated with social enterprises but 44% of Socially Conscious Businesses are for profit, private limited companies. Nearly a quarter of mainstream businesses are not-for-profit and companies limited by guarantee.
06 Unity Trust Bank Profit with Purpose
Sourcing of funds to set up
The investment required to start up Mainstream and Socially Conscious Businesses is similar and amounts to £20,000.
Mainstream founders tend to fund a larger percentage of the start up fund (83%) compared to Socially Conscious businesses (70%).
Amount required to start business
5
0
0 to
Scotland
South East
SW and Wales
East, North East and Y&H
Total
Midlands
London
North West and NI79.7 20.3
79.3 20.7
79.2 20.8
77.9 22.1
77.3 22.7
76.6 23.4
76.4 23.6
71.9 28.1
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
% of respondents
Mainstream Socially Conscious Businesses
Scotland
South East
SW and Wales
East, North East and Y&H
Total
Midlands
London
North West and NI79.7 20.3
79.3 20.7
79.2 20.8
77.9 22.1
77.3 22.7
76.6 23.4
76.4 23.6
71.9 28.1
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
% of respondents
Mainstream Socially Conscious Businesses
Where are Socially Conscious Businesses located?
Geographical distribution of Socially Conscious Businesses versus Mainstream Enterprises
Socially Conscious Business are found all over the UK, but the regions with the most Socially Responsible Businesses are Scotland, the South East, the South West and the East of England.
The regions with the lowest proportion of Socially Conscious Businesses are the North of England and Northern Ireland.
08 Unity Trust Bank Profit with Purpose
Education, Health & Social Care
Total
Finance, Insurance & Real Estate
Profession, Business & Admin services
ICT & Media
Energy, Utilities & Construction
Wholesale, Retail & Logistics
Food, Tourism & Leisure
Manufacturing 90.6 9.4
86.8 13.2
83.1 16.9
82.3 17.7
81.7 18.3
81.0 19.0
80.3 19.7
77.8 22.2
50.0 50.0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
% of respondents
Mainstream Socially Conscious Businesses
Scotland
South East
SW and Wales
East, North East and Y&H
Total
Midlands
London
North West and NI79.7 20.3
79.3 20.7
79.2 20.8
77.9 22.1
77.3 22.7
76.6 23.4
76.4 23.6
71.9 28.1
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
% of respondents
Mainstream Socially Conscious Businesses
What sectors do Socially Conscious Businesses operate in?
Sectoral distribution of Socially Conscious Businesses versus Mainstream Businesses
Education, health and social care have the highest proportion of socially conscious businesses while manufacturing has the least.
Finance, professional services and ICT have the second to fourth highest proportions of Socially Conscious Businesses but they are significantly below the average of 22.2%.
Unity Trust Bank Profit with Purpose 09
What is the turnover and size of Socially Conscious Businesses?
Turnover distribution by business type
A common myth associated with investing in Socially Conscious Businesses is that they are smaller and financial return must be sacrificed in the interests of pursuing a social impact.
This is not the case; Socially Conscious Businesses are more likely to be represented in higher turnover brackets compared to lower turnover brackets.
45.8
30.3 28.9 28.9 29.719.7
32.6
32.631.5 30.9
28.8
10.2
12.510.4 11.6 14.1 13.7
8.0
11.9 19.420.1 22.1 22.8
3.4 3.0 2.7
24.027.7
4.2 5.61.1 1.7
36.934.4
39.0
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Workforce size by business type
29.123.9
26.2
14.68.8
28.2 28.3
1.9 1.8
37.2
50 to 99
36.8
36.8
31.5 28.9 20.632.4
31.424.1
38.3
11.512.8
15.2 11.6 11.39.5
10.3 14.3 18.122.1 24.8
26.9
4.6 4.73.0 2.32.02.0 2.92.9
34.4
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
0-10 11 to 49 250 to 499 Total 100 to 249 >1,500
% o
f re
spo
nden
ts
39.4
37.6
500 to 1,499
Entrepreneurial Innovators Socially Conscious OtherMarket Focused
Socially Conscious Businesses do not have small work forces as perhaps expected. Socially Conscious Businesses are likely to employ over 50 employees.
29.123.9
26.2
14.68.8
28.2 28.3
1.9 1.8
37.2
50 to 99
36.8
36.8
31.5 28.9 20.632.4
31.424.1
38.3
11.512.8
15.2 11.6 11.39.5
10.3 14.3 18.122.1 24.8
26.9
4.6 4.73.0 2.32.02.0 2.92.9
34.4
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
0-10 11 to 49 250 to 499 Total 100 to 249 >1,500
% o
f re
spo
nden
ts
39.4
37.6
500 to 1,499
Entrepreneurial Innovators Socially Conscious OtherMarket Focused
Unity Trust Bank Profit with Purpose 11
What is the growth and performance of Socially Conscious Businesses?
Socially Conscious Businesses are slightly more muted about their growth. They tend to be bigger so their growth in terms of turnover and jobs is lower.
16.8
59.3
20.7
3.2
13.1
60.4
18.0
8.6
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Faster than expected As expected Slower than expected Don’t know
% o
f re
spo
nden
ts
Scotland
South East
SW and Wales
East, North East and Y&H
Total
Midlands
London
North West and NI79.7 20.3
79.3 20.7
79.2 20.8
77.9 22.1
77.3 22.7
76.6 23.4
76.4 23.6
71.9 28.1
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
% of respondents
Mainstream Socially Conscious Businesses
How growth has been against expectations
12 Unity Trust Bank Profit with Purpose
Expectations of Socially Conscious Businesses
Percentage by which turnover has grown in the last three years by business type
All other motives (%) Pure socially conscious (%)
5
0
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
7.8
25.823.7
20.7
10.211.911.7
30.2
27.2
15.4
8 7.4
0 1-5% 6-14% 15-24% 25-39% >40%
8.1 7.4
129.7
12.510.6
16.1
21.8
30.529
26.8
30.528.2
31
26.3
31.4
22.1
32.9
22.7
34.5%
of
resp
ond
ents
5
0
10
15
20
25
30
35
% o
f re
spo
nden
ts
Advic
e fro
m
pro
fess
iona
ls
Advic
e fro
m p
ublic
sec
tor a
genc
ies
Acce
ss to
R&D
Proc
ess o
f acc
essin
g fin
ance
Taxa
tion
Proc
ess o
f rec
ruitin
g rig
ht te
am
Regu
latio
n
Mac
roec
onom
ic cli
mat
e
Proc
ess o
f gov
ernm
ent
pro
cure
men
t pro
cess
Proc
ess o
f acc
essin
g
gov
ernm
ent g
rant
s
Mainstream SCBs
Scotland
South East
SW and Wales
East, North East and Y&H
Total
Midlands
London
North West and NI79.7 20.3
79.3 20.7
79.2 20.8
77.9 22.1
77.3 22.7
76.6 23.4
76.4 23.6
71.9 28.1
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
% of respondents
Mainstream Socially Conscious Businesses
Almost one-third more Socially Conscious Businesses have reported zero turnover growth over the last three years and compared to mainstream. The distribution of growth for Socially Conscious Businesses is skewed towards the lower end.
Note that some of these organisations are heavily dominated by public sector organisations, and even if they have private revenues, for these organisations turnover growth has been limited.
Unity Trust Bank Profit with Purpose 13
Socially Conscious Businesses are expecting growth but at lower levels.
This again may be a function of size.
Percentage by which employment is expected to grow in the next 3 years by business type
10.1
13.2
38.2
43.7
23.422.2
11.8 11.4
7.5 6.69.0
4.0
All other motives (%) Pure socially conscious (%)
0 1-5% 6-14% 15-24% 25-39% >40%
5
0
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
% o
f re
spo
nden
ts
Scotland
South East
SW and Wales
East, North East and Y&H
Total
Midlands
London
North West and NI79.7 20.3
79.3 20.7
79.2 20.8
77.9 22.1
77.3 22.7
76.6 23.4
76.4 23.6
71.9 28.1
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
% of respondents
Mainstream Socially Conscious Businesses
Expectations of Socially Conscious Businesses
14 Unity Trust Bank Profit with Purpose
Socially Conscious Businesses are more likely to expand their workforces in the next 3 years with nearly 52% responding that they expected their workforce to grow by between 1% and 14%, compared to 45% of mainstream businesses.
Expectations of job growth in next 3 years
5
0
Zero 1-5% 6-14%
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
37.935.5
31.4
35.5
13.9
16.6
15-24% 25-39%
7.75.9
% o
f re
spo
nden
ts
Mainstream Socially Conscious Businesess
4.3 3.04.8 3.6
>40%
Scotland
South East
SW and Wales
East, North East and Y&H
Total
Midlands
London
North West and NI79.7 20.3
79.3 20.7
79.2 20.8
77.9 22.1
77.3 22.7
76.6 23.4
76.4 23.6
71.9 28.1
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
% of respondents
Mainstream Socially Conscious Businesses
Unity Trust Bank Profit with Purpose 15
Socially Conscious Businesses assess their intangible performance the same as, or slightly better than mainstream businesses with one notable exception; environmental performance.
0
20
10
30
40
50
60
70
39.3 37.9
49.6
4045.9 45.1
50.448.5
58.8
49.2
58.2
51.7 51.851.756.5 56.9 57 57.1 58.9 59.1
52.2
63.2
% o
f re
spo
nden
ts
Crea
tion
of
non
-sala
ried
jobs
Posit
ive e
nvio
rnm
enta
l
im
pact
Crea
tion
of sa
laried
jobs
Mar
ket s
hare
Profi
tabi
lity
Main
taini
ng h
ealth
y cas
hflow
Mon
etar
y valu
e of
com
pany
Bran
d bu
ilding
Shar
e ho
lder
divi
dend
Prot
ectin
g int
ellec
tuall
pr
oper
tySo
cial im
pact
Empl
oyee
welf
are
Mainstream SCBs
58 58
Scotland
South East
SW and Wales
East, North East and Y&H
Total
Midlands
London
North West and NI79.7 20.3
79.3 20.7
79.2 20.8
77.9 22.1
77.3 22.7
76.6 23.4
76.4 23.6
71.9 28.1
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
% of respondents
Mainstream Socially Conscious Businesses
This may be because they are more sensitive to environmental challenges and therefore are likely to downplay their performance.
Performance of companies
What is the performance of Socially Conscious Businesses?
16 Unity Trust Bank Profit with Purpose
But more innovative across the board
5
0Product or service new
to some or all customers
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
31.9
28.8
Product or service notoffered by competitors
38.5
33.3
Spend regular % ofturnover on R&D
New approach totechnology or sector
20.2 19.8
14.9
17.1
All of the above
9.611.7
None of the above
18.4
25.2
% o
f re
spo
nden
ts
Mainstream Socially Conscious Businesess
Scotland
South East
SW and Wales
East, North East and Y&H
Total
Midlands
London
North West and NI79.7 20.3
79.3 20.7
79.2 20.8
77.9 22.1
77.3 22.7
76.6 23.4
76.4 23.6
71.9 28.1
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
% of respondents
Mainstream Socially Conscious Businesses
How innovative are Socially Conscious Businesses?
Socially Conscious Businesses are innovative across the board.
Unity Trust Bank Profit with Purpose 17
What are Socially Conscious Businesses sources of revenue?
Sources of revenue by business type
Mainstream and Socially Conscious Businesses are similar in terms of their revenue generation. 82% of Socially Conscious Businesses and 86% of mainstream businesses have revenue from private sources.
% of respondents
16.4
34.2
85.9
82.4
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Mainstream (% answering yes)
Socially Conscious Businesses(% answering yes)
Revenue from sales or charging for services
More than half of funding comes from public money
% of respondents
16.4
34.2
85.9
82.4
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Mainstream (% answering yes)
Socially Conscious Businesses(% answering yes)
Revenue from sales or charging for services
More than half of funding comes from public money
18 Unity Trust Bank Profit with Purpose
Sales income as a percentage of revenue
60% of Socially Conscious Businesses generate more than 50% of their turnover from revenues.
Scotland
South East
SW and Wales
East, North East and Y&H
Total
Midlands
London
North West and NI79.7 20.3
79.3 20.7
79.2 20.8
77.9 22.1
77.3 22.7
76.6 23.4
76.4 23.6
71.9 28.1
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
% of respondents
Mainstream Socially Conscious Businesses
5.5 6.0
10.7
27.7
16.4
9.3
14.2
29.0
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
0-10% 11-25% 26-50% 51-99%
50.1
31.1
100%
% o
f re
spo
nden
ts
Unity Trust Bank Profit with Purpose 19
Where do Socially Conscious Businesses invest?
Distribution of profits or surplus by Socially Conscious Businesses
Socially Conscious Businesses distribute their profits and surpluses in a variety of ways. Most commonly, Socially Conscious Businesses reinvest their surplus to achieve their social goals. Only 10% never have a surplus to redistribute.
Never have any surplus
Give to charity
Pay a dividend to directors
Invest in community, health or social work
Share with workforce
Pay a dividend to shareholders
Reinvest in the business 70.7
29.3
24.8
24.8
14.0
9.9
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
17.6
20 Unity Trust Bank Profit with Purpose
Sources of advice
What are the needs of Socially Conscious Businesses?
There are differences in the types of business support used by mainstream businesses and Socially Conscious Businesses.
Socially Conscious Businesses are more likely to access legal or accounting advice, while mainstream businesses are more likely to access support from banks.
0
10
5
15
20
25
30
35
40
3.5 2.7
7.8
11.3
4.55.0
10.6
8.6
12.3 12.214.4
19.4 19.8
29.3
10.4
18.4 18.4
13.4% o
f re
spo
nden
ts
Othe
r
Fam
ily m
embe
r
A pe
rson
al fri
end
Pote
ntial
inve
stor
s
Anot
her e
ntre
pren
eur
Your
ban
k
A m
ento
r or c
oach
A bu
sines
s or e
ntre
pren
eur
su
ppor
t net
work
Gove
rnm
ent s
uppo
rt
ag
ency W
ork c
ollea
gue
8.7
25.5
36.5
A pr
ofes
siona
l (e.g
.
acc
ount
ant o
r law
yer)
36.2
Scotland
South East
SW and Wales
East, North East and Y&H
Total
Midlands
London
North West and NI79.7 20.3
79.3 20.7
79.2 20.8
77.9 22.1
77.3 22.7
76.6 23.4
76.4 23.6
71.9 28.1
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
% of respondents
Mainstream Socially Conscious Businesses
Unity Trust Bank Profit with Purpose 21
Broader operating conditions such as the regulatory environment, tax, and the macroeconomic climate are more likely to negatively impact Socially Conscious Businesses.
0
10
5
15
20
25
30
35
40
8.1 7.4
12 12.59.7 10.6
16.1
21.8
30.5 30.5 31 31.432.9
34.5
29
26.8 26.328.2
% o
f re
spo
nden
ts
Advic
e fro
m
pro
fess
iona
ls
Advic
e fro
m p
ublic
sec
tor a
genc
ies
Acce
ss to
R&D
Proc
ess o
f
acc
essin
g fin
ance
Taxa
tion
Proc
ess o
f rec
ruitin
g
rig
ht te
amRe
gulat
ion
Mac
roec
onom
ic cli
mat
e
Proc
ess o
f gov
ernm
ent
proc
urem
ent p
roce
ss
Proc
ess o
f acc
essin
g
gov
ernm
ent g
rant
s
Mainstream SCBs
22.1 22.7
Impact of the external operating environment on growth (% responding negative or very negative)
Scotland
South East
SW and Wales
East, North East and Y&H
Total
Midlands
London
North West and NI79.7 20.3
79.3 20.7
79.2 20.8
77.9 22.1
77.3 22.7
76.6 23.4
76.4 23.6
71.9 28.1
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
% of respondents
Mainstream Socially Conscious Businesses
What are the effects on growth of external support
22 Unity Trust Bank Profit with Purpose
Key Findings
Socially Conscious Businesses are creating jobs, addressing education, health and welfare issues, as well as environmental issues. They have the potential to ‘step-up’ and address the biggest social and economic challenges that UK society is currently facing. However, to do this some of the obstacles for growth need to be addressed.
Socially Aware Businesses are more likely to be looking for finance than their mainstream counterparts. Typically, they are looking for finance to grow,
With 22% of UK businesses classed as ‘Socially Conscious’ and 66% being socially aware, the market is large. Yet Socially Conscious Businesses are not being effectively catered for by mainstream financial institutions.
or provide working capital to the business and, like mainstream businesses, they are most likely to be looking for loans and overdrafts in order to do so. However, they are less likely to go to a bank for advice or support and more likely to go to a lawyer, or accountant or government agency, as they report more negative experiences with accessing the “system”in terms of recruitment, finance, procurement and grants.
of UK businesses have a social conscience. This equates to 1.2million businesses
22%of UK businesses are socially aware, this equates to 3.6million businesses
66%
are nearly twice as likely as mainstream businesses to be looking for finance
Socially Conscious Businesses of Socially Conscious
Businesses are for profit businesses
44%
This is resulting in businesses with social motivations not fully realising their potential.
As an ethical bank that works exclusively with organisations and businesses seeking a positive social impact, Unity Trust Bank brings over 30 years of experience of straightforward banking solutions, helping our customers prosper.
BANK WITH US. BANK ON US.
Unity Trust Bank Profit with Purpose 23
Unity Trust Bank is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. Unity Trust Bank is entered in the Financial Services Register under number 204570. Registered Office: Nine Brindleyplace, Birmingham, B1 2HB. Registered in England and Wales no. 1713124. Calls are recorded and may be monitored for security, quality and monitoring purposes.
Contact Us
0345 140 1000 [email protected] unity.co.uk