Big Issue Invest’s Outcomes Fund Makes First Investments

N News

March 22, 2018

NCM is delighted to report its client - Big Issue Invest’s Outcomes Fund has made its first investments supporting  the homeless and vulnerable through St Mungo’s and Changing Lives charities. The Outcomes Investment Fund was launched in May 2017 and is managed by an FCA-authorised subsidiary of Big Issue Invest. It benefits from a cornerstone investment of £10 million from Big Society Capital and with support from Barclays Bank. UK-wide the Big Issue’s social investment arm Big Issue Invest (BII) has invested £30 million in more than 300 social ventures since 2005. NCM has acted for BII since early 2014 and across a number of its funds.

 

Payment by results contracts are a growing source of revenue for many charities and social enterprises and the Outcomes Investment Fund was developed to provide fit-for-purpose funding to support their delivery. The return on the Fund’s investments is linked to the success of the underlying contracts in achieving these outcomes, and Big Issue Invest provides management support to its investees.

 

St Mungo’s and Changing Lives, charities that provide specialist support services for homeless and vulnerable people across the UK, are the first organisations to receive investment from BII’s Outcomes Investment Fund.

The Barclays Bank-supported fund makes investments into charities and social enterprises delivering payment by results contracts, where some or all of the contract payments are dependent on achieving social outcomes set by the public sector commissioner.

 

Katy Pillai, Investment Director at Big Issue Invest, said: “We are delighted to partner with St Mungo’s and Changing Lives. They are both outstanding organisations with an excellent track record and commitment to improving lives. With our organisations’ shared social mission and values, we look forward to developing these partnerships further.”

 

Changing Lives works with people affected by multiple social exclusion by reaching out into communities across the country and helps people to make positive, lasting changes in their lives. The organisation offers specialist support services for women and families, dedicated recovery centres, temporary and long-term accommodation solutions, and employment and volunteering opportunities. The Big Issue Invest loan of £400,000 will fund Changing Lives to support 150 homeless people in Newcastle and Gateshead.

 

Stephen Bell OBE, Chief Executive of Changing Lives, said: “We have been offering services to homeless people in Tyneside for over 40 years, and we are always striving to innovate the services that we provide. We are delighted to be working with BII as an investment partner, not just in respect of the loan but because we believe that we can learn from each other and ultimately inject new ideas as well as investment into the way that we support vulnerable rough sleepers in Newcastle and Gateshead.”

 

St Mungo’s is a leading UK charity and housing association working directly with people who are sleeping rough, in hostels, and at risk of homelessness across London and the south of England. A loan of £125,000 from Big Issue Invest will provide St Mungo’s with the upfront funding needed to work intensively with 175 people sleeping rough in London.

 

St Mungo’s Chief Executive Howard Sinclair, said: “St Mungo’s has always been at the forefront of new ways to support people away from street homelessness so they can live fulfilling lives. That’s why the backing of BII is crucial in ensuring we are able to explore innovative options with people who have perhaps reached a very low point in their lives and work with them in their unique recovery journey towards a more positive future.”

Big Issue Invest’s first payment by results investment was in 2012, as part of the London Homelessness Social Impact Bond commissioned by the GLA. A recent DCLG evaluation of the programme estimated that it had avoided around 3,900 episodes of rough sleeping in the capital. Significantly more of the programme’s participants were in long-term accommodation after it ended than a comparison group.

 

Kathleen McLeay, Chief Executive of NCM, said: "Big Issue Invest are a long standing NCM client and NCM carry out all fund administration and accounting for the Fund and related entities. We are delighted the Fund has  approved its first investments and we look forward to working with the team over the coming years as the fund progresses. NCM has a number of clients in the third sector and if this of interest to you or your clients please don’t hesitate to get in touch".

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