Impact

To date Kindred has made 66 investments in 51 socially-trading organisations (STOs) across Liverpool City Region bringing the total invested by Kindred since 2021 to £3m.

1. This year – 2024 – those 51 invested STOs provided direct support to 421,735 people

2. STOs have levered a further £2.26m additional investment in the last 12 months, bringing the total additional funds levered between 2021 and 2024 to £16.35m…

3. … And generated a total economic and social impact value (using LCR CA’s methodology) of £35.9m

4. STOs have collectively increased the number of people they employ by 71.6% since receiving investment. The total number of jobs safeguarded by the investee portfolio is 323.2 (FTE). This follows the creation of 73.95 jobs in 2024 – and almost 200 jobs since receiving investment. STOs are also enabling an upward mobility within safeguarded jobs by increasing existing staff’s hours from part-time to full-time resulting in increased wages and stability.

5. Turnover growth of investees demonstrates STOs offer a pathfinder to a new economy by filling gaps in supply chains and addressing market failures that traditional businesses do not respond to.

6. Across all cohorts, STOs have shown strong financial growth. In the 2023-24 year the combined turnover of all STOs in the portfolio was £11.5m – an increase of £1.89 million year-on-year (20%).

7. Collectively over the last three years:

• STOs invested in 2021 have grown their turnover by 54.5% annually, increasing from £1.75 million to £6.47 million over three years- exceeding OECD’s 20% threshold for high-growth enterprises.

• Investments made to STOs in 2022 saw an 11% annual turnover growth, increasing from £3.86 million to £4.73 million over two years.

• STOs invested in 2023 experienced a 37% turnover increase in their first year, growing from £201,600 to £276,900 in 2024.

8. Following investment, over half (55%) of STOs reported an increase in their customer base, highlighting expanded market reach and increased economic activity.

9. STOs are located in, come from, and serve, those places and communities where the market has failed unlocking opportunities for skills development and local wealth. Since investment 80% trade at a regional or multi borough level, 18% now trade nationally and 2% are engaged in international trade.

10. Looking ahead 70% of STOs project an increased turnover, while 15% expect stability in the coming year.

11. In 2017 research by Heseltine Institute showed Social Business made up 1,400 of the Liverpool City Region’s active enterprises, employing 45,000 people and generating £3billion in annual income. Kindred STO membership has grown from an original 150 socially-trading organisations in 2021 to 1462 STO members in 2024.

12. STOs are high growth. In 2017 demand for investment was projected by Heseltine Institute at £32million. Kindred’s 51 current investees are seeking c. £6m in additional investment with c. 37% of their demand currently being met. Demand within the membership is currently estimated at £14.6 million.

13. Kindred currently has a 96% repayment rate for those STOs due to repay.

14. While STOs invariably hit difficulties our evidence suggests that with Hands on Help they not only stabilise but return to growth of scale and impact.

15. Our work stimulates the growth of Social Innovation Clusters across Liverpool City Region, with clusters established or emerging in Liverpool, Wirral, St Helens, and Knowsley. Plans for Halton and Sefton are underway.

16. Among the 51 STOs we invested in 2024, 53% are based in Liverpool although over half of those serve the whole region, with the remaining 47% spread across Wirral, St Helens, Knowsley, Sefton, and Halton.

17. Kindred investees have a catalytic effect attracting other STOs and businesses and providing place confidence and identity. STO clusters are anecdotally generating social innovations at a higher rate, or with greater impact, than those operating in isolation.

The Kindred economic model appears to deliver economic growth and community wealth in those areas that have been unaffected by traditional trickle down or trickle out economics over the last 30 years. Indeed, there is some evidence that areas that have performed well economically have also seen an increase in relative child poverty and other poverty indicators when compared to areas considered to have performed less well according to government economic indicators. The reasons for this are not singular but appear to include the strength of the social economy in an area.

Read the 2023 impact report here

Read the 2022 impact report here

Read our evaluation of our pilot round…

  • Total economic and social impact = £5m
  • BlaST, with support from Kindred, has committed £845,820 in investment to 16 Black-led socially-trading organisations (STOs), representing 31% of Kindred investment.
  • Our investment has supported BlaST STOs to deliver and meaningfully support 18,270 people across LCR
  • 50% of BlaST investees are women-led, reflecting our commitment to equitable share of money.
  • Beyond direct investment, BlaST continues to support a wider community of 263 members, providing tailored investment readiness support for STOs seeking to grow their social impact.
  • The number of jobs safeguarded by BlaST investees has doubled, increasing from 38.4 to 78.5 FTE jobs – a 104% increase since investment.
  • As a result, BlaST investees now account for 24.29% of the 323.2 FTE jobs safeguarded across Kindred’s investment portfolio.
  • In 2024 alone, BlaST investees created 20.2 new FTE jobs, bringing the total number of new jobs created since investment to 44.8 FTEs.
  • In the 2023-24 year, the combined turnover of all Blast STOs in the portfolio was ~ £2.6m (£2,589,077) an increase of £834,168 year-on-year (94%).
  • Over the last three years of investment, BlaST investees have, on average, increased their turnover by 45.6%
    • Black-led STOs invested in 2021 have grown their turnover by 40.9% annually, increasing from £375,347 to £1,048,970 over three years-exceeding OECD’s 20% threshold for high-growth enterprises.
    • Investments made to STOs in 2022 saw an 26% annual turnover growth, increasing from £849,792 to £1,356,657 over two years.
    • STOs invested in 2023 experienced a 70% turnover increase in their first year, growing from £108,139 to £183,450 in 2024.
  • 73% project an increase in turnover in the coming year
  • Over the last 12 months, BlaST investees have leveraged £368,068 in additional investment, bringing the total additional funds secured to £944,350. However, this represents only 6% of the total £16.35m in additional investment secured by Kindred investees to date.
  • In 2023 STOs were seeking £1,128,000 in additional investment. By 2024 they secured (levered) £368,068 achieving approximately 32.6% of the additional investment being sought after.
  • Currently, BlaST investees are seeking a further £452,300 bringing the total additional investment sought to ~ £1.2 million. (This includes £759,932 unmet additional investment needs identified in 2023).
  • Property demand of Blast investees
    • 64% (7) of STOs are building-based
    • Among those with space access, 14% (1 STO) own their premises, while 86% rent, paying at least £150,844 in annual rent.
    • Nine STOs are seeking building and larger premises.