Cheshire & Warrington Social Enterprise Partnership

The launch of the Social Enterprise Loan Fund offers hope to hundreds of charities and social enterprises in the North West that are unable to secure funding from mainstream sources.

Accessing finance to help develop a business can be challenging for many successful, well-established companies. For small community enterprises it can often be nigh on impossible – and, with the credit crunch, things have got a whole lot tougher. However, help is at hand…

The Social Enterprise Loan Fund (TSELF) aims to help organisations that have a social impact, especially those working in disadvantaged communities. TSELF is a registered charity which raises funds from a combination of public and private sources. With loan finance harder than ever to come by, the launch of the new fund couldn’t have come at a more important time.

Roy White, Regional Director in the North West, says: “Social enterprises play a vital role in our communities and I am keen to see social enterprises in the North West thrive and prosper. The focus of our efforts is to help community businesses grow in a responsible way so that they achieve long term sustainability, which is not only good for them and their employees, but also for the people they help.”

Support is provided in a number of ways – loans of up to £250,000 to purchase property or make improvements to existing buildings; loans of up to £100,000 for vehicles or equipment; loans of up to £50,000 to help with the day-to-day running of the business.

“We are used to dealing with organisations that have a diverse range of legal structures and governance arrangements, which means we understand their specific needs,” explains Roy. “However, all the enterprises we help must be able to show that they can afford the loan repayments – the last thing we want to do is cause financial difficulties for an organisation that is providing a service in its community.”

For a loan to finance property purchase or improvements, for example, interest rates are typically 2.5% - 3.5% over base rate, spread over 10 years. TSELF would normally ask for a mortgage over the property, but unlike many banks, there are usually no fees for taking out that security.

Simon Walker of Tameside Community Radio says: “The help we received from TSELF made a huge difference in getting our radio station off the ground. We really appreciate the support we received and the radio station, which went on air a year ago, is proving to be a popular and valuable community resource.”

Some of the other types of social enterprise in the North West that have been helped include a recycling business providing opportunities for people with mental health problems, a charity helping to reintegrate long-term unemployed people and an enterprise training and employment centre.

For more information visit www.tself.org.uk or contact Roy White at TSELF on 01928 590472 or roy@tself.org.uk

Case study: Tameside Community Radio

103.6 FM Tameside Radio obtained a licence from OFCOM in October 2005 to run a radio station in Tameside which provides a unique sound that engages the community whilst utilising people with skills that are generally underused in mainstream radio services.

Tameside Radio came to TSELF in May 2006 to seek a loan of £25,000 to complement a mix of grant funding they were hoping to acquire from three different sources. TSELF was able to accommodate their request although it took nearly two years for Tameside Radio to secure the public investment required. Most of the loan was spent on equipment for the new station with the remainder helping to fund working capital.

Tameside Radio aims to provide a community resource and engage hard to reach groups in education, sports clubs, youth clubs and community centres. It now has 146 active volunteers.

They went on air on 30 September 2007 and their impact has already been tremendous: 55,000 listeners every month, 7,500 online listeners every month and significant increases in attendees at key community events across the public and voluntary sector due to Tameside Radio broadcasting them across the airwaves. Over 1600 community events promoted in the first year.

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