Kindred has published its 2025 impact report and it’s packed with proof that a different way of investing in Liverpool City Region really works. Called Building the Future Economy, the report demonstrates the impact of backing socially-trading organisations (STOs) across the region – businesses that put people and place at the heart of everything they do – and why the social economy is significant.
It shows how:
• Social economy jobs matter. They’re good-quality roles, created in the communities that need them most.
• The social economy attracts investment. Where it takes root, other money and resource tends to follow. It is catalytic by nature.
• Kindred helps unlock both. By supporting individual organisations, working with partners and connecting them to each other, we strengthen the ecosystem they’re already part of.
The headline numbers
- Since 2020, Kindred has made 74 investments in 69 STOs, putting £3m into the region’s social economy
- That money hasn’t sat still. STOs have levered a further £3.05m in additional investment over the last 12 months alone, bringing total follow-on investment since 2021 to £19.4m
- The combined turnover of investees now stands at £14m, up from £11.5m in 2024
- Jobs have grown just as fast: employment across investees has increased by 81% since 2020, now supporting 405.5 full-time equivalent roles. In 2025 alone, STOs created 74.1 new FTE jobs, taking the six-year total to almost 300.
- 60% of investees are demonstrating improved practice, whether that’s reaching new markets, adopting new technology or securing the right money for them
And the reach goes well beyond the businesses themselves – together, investees have touched 483,559 people through their work, which falls into three main sectors: health and wellbeing, community and belonging and place and biodiversity.
Money with meaning
What comes through clearly in this year’s report is that investment from Kindred is about far more than money. STOs describe it as validation: a vote of confidence that opens doors, builds trust and gives founders the breathing room to step back from day-to-day delivery and think strategically.
The report also puts a spotlight on where investment is going. Thirty-seven per cent of 2025 investment by value went to Black and ethnically minoritised-led STOs – well past Kindred's 25% target – while 49% went to women-led organisations.
These aren't token gestures. BEM-led STOs backed by Kindred are growing turnover and employment at an average of 45% year on year, proof that closing investment gaps pays off for everyone.
Place matters
The case studies bring the numbers to life. In Runcorn, a festival of ideas connected 40 local people and helped launch Runcorn Old Town Community Land Trust, now with more than 200 members. In Knowsley, a pop-up shop run through the Women in the Know network helped isolated residents find support, confidence and each other.
And MELT’s story of finding a home for its performing arts academy, after weeks of knocking on doors in Birkenhead, is a reminder of just how hard property remains for the sector, with 71% of STOs still renting and spending over £466,000 collectively on rent every year.
What’s next?
The report is honest about the challenges too: leadership burnout, patchy impact measurement and a national funding system that still leaves BEM-led and women-led businesses fighting for a fair share of follow-on investment. But the direction of travel is unmistakable. With the Liverpool City Region Social Investment Pathfinder now raising £50m, including funding for a community property holding company, Kindred’s next chapter is about scaling up what's already working.
As STO board members Grace Harrison and Ibe Hayter say in their introduction, this report “is not just evidence of growth; it is evidence that a different way of investing in our region is possible.”