North East social enterprises earn place in first RBS SE100 index
On 9 June, the first ever RBS SE100 Index was launched at a celebratory event in London. Over the past year the Index, which is the first of its kind to track the growth of social enterprise in Britain, received information from 350 social enterprises from around the country, whose collective annual turnover amounted to £812 million.
The top 100 social enterprises in the Index have grown by an average of 78.63% over the past financial year and North East based social enterprises showed their strength and commitment to social and environmental aims with eight regional organizations included in the three categories of the Index.
Six regional enterprises featured in the Top 100 Growth Leaders 2010 category, with NESEP member Acumen Community Enterprise Development Trust ranked 21st in the Index showing an annual growth of 94.67%. The Five Lamps Organisation and Berwick Community Development Trust, also members, were ranked at 51 (annual growth of 74.52) and 55 (annual growth of 46.28%) respectively.
North East based enterprises Future Regeneration of Grangetown or FROG (ranked 37th, with annual growth of 60.49%), Holy Island of Lindisfarne Community Development Trust (ranked 51st, with growth of 50.99%) and Middleton Plus Development Trust (placed 58th, with 45.30% growth) also featured in the Top 100.
Within the Top 100 Impact Leaders 2010 category, by which social enterprises are judged by a test developed in association with the SROI network that measures how well enterprises report their impact, Newcastle based Shared Interest, the ethical investment co-operative that lends money to businesses in the developing world, received an impressive Impact Score of 4 out of 5.
Community Car Club and NESEP member, Option C CIC (now named Commonwheels following a merger) featured in the Top 10 Trailblazers 2010 category – which highlights successful start ups and other organizations that have been trading for less than three years – with an annual growth of 184.48%.
Follow the link to access the full RBS SE100 Data Report.