Profit with Purpose Insight Report
2 Unity Trust Bank Profit with Purpose Hidden Social Enterprises Unity Trust is a commercial bank with a difference; we only work with organisations and businesses who want to help create a better society. Established over 3 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. We focus on delivering positive social impact, not simply maximising profit. This is known as our double bottom line strategy. In October 217, we surveyed 1,5 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 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 stakeholderbased way of operating that doesn t necessarily make less money but will make that money in pursuit of social and environmental objectives, reinvesting accordingly.
Unity Trust Bank Profit with Purpose 3 We found that as many as 66% of the 1,5 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. 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 3% paid a dividend to shareholders Just over 7% reinvested some or all of their surplus and 25% shared any surplus with their workforces. have much larger workforces and turnovers than expected, with nearly 3% having turnovers greater than 5 million. Compared to mainstream businesses, have an increased share of job growth, making up 29% of businesses who created between 5 and 99 jobs, and 25% of businesses creating between 1 and 249 jobs. The survey revealed that sources of income for Socially Conscious Businesses were similar to those of mainstream businesses. Over 8% of generate all or part of their turnover from sales, with revenues comprising 1% of turnover for over 3% of the Socially Conscious Businesses sample, and more than 5% of turnover for a further 29% of those sampled. 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 15 businesses comprising of 276 founders and 774 senior decision makers from companies of any size. The survey was conducted online Quarter 4 217 by Research Now. No samples or quotas were set by sector or region.
4 Unity Trust Bank Profit with Purpose 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. We asked 1,5 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. Making a positive social impact is the most important aim for 6% of Socially Conscious Businesses. For 18% it is making a positive environmental impact, where as for 17% it is creating jobs. General and primary motivations 5 51.7 4 3 2 1 3.5 1.5 Helping others follow an idea or dream 2.8 4.8 Following idea or dream 45.3 13.7 Pursuit of market opportunity 29.1 33. 8.3 12.7 3.3 36. 12.7 29.7 Pursuit of profit Achieving something different in the market place Developing scientific or academic research Creating a positive impact for stakeholders Making a difference 9.5 17.6 Shareholder return 5.3 1.2 1. 4.5 2. Other None General motivations () Primary motivations ()
Unity Trust Bank Profit with Purpose 5 The responses to these two questions produce the definitions used in this report: 66 % 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. Socially Conscious 22 % 78 % 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. All other motivations. Taken as a proportion of UK businesses this equates to 4.29 million businesses. For the purpose of this report, unless otherwise stated, refers to the 22% of all organisations surveyed. 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
6 Unity Trust Bank Profit with Purpose What is the legal structure of 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. Legal structure by type of business Socially Conscious Businesses (%) 43.9 39.5 6.8 4.9 4.9 (%) 63.3 11.8 12.4 4.6 7.9 % 1% 2% 3% 4% 5% 6% 7% 8% 9% 1% Private Limited Company Redistributive or not for profit Company Limited by Guarantee Sole Trader Partnership
Unity Trust Bank Profit with Purpose 7 Sourcing of funds to set up The investment required to start up and Socially Conscious Businesses is similar and amounts to 2,. founders tend to fund a larger percentage of the start up fund (83%) compared to Socially Conscious businesses (7%). Amount required to start business 5 45 46.2 4 35 3 25 2 15 1 5 32.6 19.2 14.4 11.5 26. 9.3 15.4 17.7 7.7 to < 5k 5k - < 1k 1k - < 5k 5k - 1k 1k - 1m
8 Unity Trust Bank Profit with Purpose Where are Socially Conscious Businesses located? 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 are the North of England and Northern Ireland. Geographical distribution of versus Enterprises Scotland 71.9 28.1 South East 76.4 23.6 SW and Wales 76.6 23.4 East, North East and Y&H 77.3 22.7 Total 77.9 22.1 Midlands 79.2 2.8 London 79.3 2.7 North West and NI 79.7 2.3 2 4 6 8 1 12
Unity Trust Bank Profit with Purpose 9 What sectors do Socially Conscious Businesses operate in? 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%. Sectoral distribution of versus Businesses Education, Health & Social Care 5. 5. Total 77.8 22.2 Finance, Insurance & Real Estate 8.3 19.7 Profession, Business & Admin services 81. 19. ICT & Media 81.7 18.3 Energy, Utilities & Construction 82.3 17.7 Wholesale, Retail & Logistics 83.1 16.9 Food, Tourism & Leisure 86.8 13.2 Manufacturing 9.6 9.4 2 4 6 8 1 12
1 Unity Trust Bank Profit with Purpose What is the turnover and size of Socially Conscious Businesses? A common myth associated with investing in 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. The group with the highest number of is companies with turnover of more than 5m. This is a stark contrast to the group with the highest proportion of mainstream businesses, which is with turnovers of less than 1m. Turnover distribution by business type 1 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 1.1 1.7 3.4 4.2 3. 2.7 5.6 11.9 19.4 2.1 22.1 22.8 24. 1.2 27.7 12.5 1.4 11.6 14.1 13.7 8. 28.8 36.9 32.6 34.4 31.5 3.9 39. 2 1 45.8 3.3 32.6 28.9 28.9 29.7 19.7 < 1m < 1m-< 5m < 5m-< 1m Total < 5m- < 5m < 1m-< 5m < 5m Entrepreneurial Market Focused Innovators Socially Conscious Other
Unity Trust Bank Profit with Purpose 11 do not have small work forces as perhaps expected. are likely to employ over 5 employees. Workforce size by business type 1 4.6 2. 2.9 3. 2.3 4.7 1.9 1.8 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 1.3 14.3 11.5 12.8 36.8 39.4 18.1 15.2 31.4 22.1 24.8 11.6 11.3 24.1 34.4 26.9 9.5 38.3 28.2 28.3 14.6 8.8 26.2 37.2 2 1 36.8 31.5 32.4 37.6 28.9 2.6 29.1 23.9-1 11 to 49 25 to 499 Total 1 to 249 >1,5 5 to 1,499 5 to 99 Entrepreneurial Market Focused Innovators Socially Conscious Other
12 Unity Trust Bank Profit with Purpose What is the growth and performance of 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. How growth has been against expectations 7 6 59.3 6.4 5 4 3 2 1 2.7 16.8 18. 13.1 8.6 3.2 Faster than expected As expected Slower than expected Don t know
Unity Trust Bank Profit with Purpose 13 Expectations of 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. Percentage by which turnover has grown in the last three years by business type 35 3 3.2 25 2 15 1 5 7.8 11.7 25.8 23.7 27.2 2.7 15.4 1.2 11.9 8 7.4 1-5% 6-14% 15-24% 25-39% >4%
14 Unity Trust Bank Profit with Purpose Expectations of 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 5 45 4 43.7 35 38.2 3 25 2 15 1 5 23.4 22.2 1.1 13.2 11.8 11.4 9. 7.5 6.6 4. 1-5% 6-14% 15-24% 25-39% >4%
Unity Trust Bank Profit with Purpose 15 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 4 35 37.9 35.5 35.5 3 25 2 15 1 31.4 13.9 16.6 5 Zero 1-5% 6-14% 7.7 5.9 4.3 4.8 3. 3.6 15-24% 25-39% >4%
16 Unity Trust Bank Profit with Purpose What is the performance of Socially Conscious Businesses? assess their intangible performance the same as, or slightly better than mainstream businesses with one notable exception; environmental performance. This may be because they are more sensitive to environmental challenges and therefore are likely to downplay their performance. Performance of companies 7 6 5 4 3 2 39.3 37.9 49.6 4 45.9 45.1 5.4 48.5 58.8 49.2 63.2 58.2 56.5 58 56.9 57 57.1 58.9 58 59.1 51.7 51.7 52.2 51.8 1 Creation of non-salaried jobs Positive enviornmental impact Creation of salaried jobs Market share Profitability Monetary value of company Maintaining healthy cashflow Brand building Share holder dividend Protecting intellectuall property Social impact Employee welfare
Unity Trust Bank Profit with Purpose 17 How innovative are Socially Conscious Businesses? are innovative across the board. But more innovative across the board 4 35 38.5 3 25 2 15 1 5 31.9 28.8 33.3 2.2 19.8 14.9 17.1 9.6 11.7 18.4 25.2 Product or service new to some or all customers Product or service not offered by competitors Spend regular % of turnover on R&D New approach to technology or sector All of the above None of the above
18 Unity Trust Bank Profit with Purpose What are Socially Conscious Businesses sources of revenue? 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. Sources of revenue by business type Socially Conscious Businesses (% answering yes) 34.2 82.4 (% answering yes) 16.4 85.9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 Revenue from sales or charging for services More than half of funding comes from public money
Unity Trust Bank Profit with Purpose 19 6% of generate more than 5% of their turnover from revenues. Sales income as a percentage of revenue 6 5 4 3 27.7 29. 5.1 31.1 2 1 16.4 14.2 1.7 9.3 5.5 6. -1% 11-25% 26-5% 51-99% 1%
2 Unity Trust Bank Profit with Purpose Where do Socially Conscious Businesses invest? distribute their profits and surpluses in a variety of ways. Most commonly, Socially Conscious Businesses reinvest their surplus to achieve their social goals. Only 1% never have a surplus to redistribute. Distribution of profits or surplus by Never have any surplus 9.9 Give to charity 14. Pay a dividend to directors 17.6 Invest in community, health or social work 24.8 Share with workforce 24.8 Pay a dividend to shareholders 29.3 Reinvest in the business 7.7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Unity Trust Bank Profit with Purpose 21 What are the needs of Socially Conscious Businesses? There are differences in the types of business support used by mainstream businesses and. are more likely to access legal or accounting advice, while mainstream businesses are more likely to access support from banks. Sources of advice 4 35 3 25 2 15 1 5 3.5 2.7 Other 7.8 Family member 4.5 11.3 A personal friend 5. 1.6 Potential investors 8.6 Another entrepreneur 12.3 12.2 1.4 19.4 19.8 18.4 18.4 Your bank 13.4 14.4 A mentor or coach A business or entrepreneur support network 8.7 Government support agency 25.5 Work colleague 29.3 36.2 36.5 A professional (e.g. accountant or lawyer)
22 Unity Trust Bank Profit with Purpose What are the effects on growth of external support Broader operating conditions such as the regulatory environment, tax, and the macroeconomic climate are more likely to negatively impact Socially Conscious Businesses. Impact of the external operating environment on growth (% responding negative or very negative) 4 35 3 25 2 15 1 5 8.1 7.4 12 12.5 9.7 1.6 16.1 21.8 34.5 3.5 3.5 31 31.4 32.9 29 28.2 26.8 26.3 22.1 22.7 Advice from professionals Advice from public sector agencies Access to R&D Process of accessing finance Taxation Process of recruiting right team Regulation Macroeconomic climate Process of government procurement process Process of accessing government grants
Unity Trust Bank Profit with Purpose 23 Key Findings 22 % 66 % of UK businesses are of UK businesses have a social conscience. This equates to 1.2million businesses socially aware, this equates to 3.6million businesses 44 % of Socially Conscious Businesses are for profit businesses Socially Conscious Businesses are nearly twice as likely as mainstream businesses to be looking for finance 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. 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, 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. 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 3 years of experience of straightforward banking solutions, helping our customers prosper. BANK WITH US. BANK ON US.
Contact Us 345 14 1 us@unity.co.uk unity.co.uk 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 2457. 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.