Partner Article

Social enterprises ride out recession

The social enterprise sector is thriving despite the recession, new research suggests.

Half of all social enterprises in London believe the recession has actually created opportunities for them, while a further 72% are planning modest or substantial growth over the next three years, a Business Link survey found.

Tamara Pekelman, Business Link advisor, said: “The sector is of course not immune to the recession - nearly a third reported a fall in sales - but what’s encouraging is that many are actively looking for new areas that they can expand and grow their operations.”

Eight out of 10 polled social enterprises also said the recession had not affected their ability to access finance. Pekelman said social enterprises which finance community projects were even thriving as a result of mainstream credit services scaling back lending.

In contrast to patterns in the wider private sector, 82% of social enterprises have no plans for redundancies, and three quarters said they did not intend to downsize operations.

Pekelman added: “Social enterprises play an increasingly vital role in long-term community regeneration and many see the balance of running a business and doing a social good as an attractive proposition.

“The social enterprises sector as a whole is in generally healthy shape. Many owners are optimistic about their business prospects and are planning on making positive changes to their business operation such as up-skilling their staff.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .