Unity Trust Bank nears £100m lending target to social enterprises

BIRMINGHAM- based Unity Trust Bank has backed the social enterprise sector to the tune of almost £30m, latest figures show.

In its third Social Impact report, the bank revealed its commitment to the sector by stating its customers had helped to create more than 3,000 new jobs across the UK.

The bank made 57 loans totalling £29.9m during 2014, and it is now set to exceed its three-year lending target of £100m by the end of 2015.

The new report reveals the bank’s lending has helped create and protect 3,423 jobs in the UK. Of these, 93% have been made possible through Unity’s £7.5m lending to Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFIs) – more than twice the figure achieved the previous year.

Peter Kelly, Director of Business Development and Marketing at Unity Trust Bank, said: “In 2013 we declared our £100m lending target over three years. We’re well on our way to meeting this and look to the future with anticipation and determination. As we continue to grow, we will continue working to increase our social impact, engraining our founding principles into every aspect of our business strategy.

“We want to become the go-to bank for the civil society, providing businesses and organisations nationwide with financial services that will allow them to grow their social impact, just as we seek to grow our own.”

The report also reveals that 72% of the bank’s staff collectively volunteered 175 days to 36 charitable and community organisations, smashing the 135-day target.

Staff are encouraged to give five days per year towards the programme and can volunteer at an organisation of their choice.

Unity is the UK’s leading provider of finance to CDFIs, lending to 15 CDFIs in 2014 who deliver funds to underserved and financially excluded SMEs, microbusinesses and individuals.

Unity uses its customer deposits to fund loans that help create better housing, community assets and office space. Lending is split across charities (53%), CDFIs (25%), Registered Social Housing Providers (16%), social enterprises (4%) and Industrial and Provident Societies (2%).

One of the projects invested in was Birmingham-based The Springfield Project, a charity providing children’s services and support for families. The £350,000 loan enabled the organisation to renovate six empty homes across Birmingham to provide suitable rental property for families with at least one child under the age of five.