IMPACT THEME: Poverty & Disadvantage; Work & Employment
WHAT THEY DO: Support people with multiple barriers to employment, training or social inclusion to become fulfilled, skilled and employed - ranging from ex-offenders to survivors of Modern Slavery. They operate eight social enterprises in Birmingham.
YEAR FOUNDED: 1993
INVESTMENT AMOUNT: £100,000
INVESTMENT SOURCE: Resonance West Midlands SITR Fund
INVESTMENT PURPOSE: To scale Jericho's furniture upcycling business - investment will increase retail space by 25%, as well as team capacity
DEAL STRUCTURE: 6 year unsecured loan from the Resonance West Midlands SITR Fund - 3 years interest only (5% total cost p.a.), 3 years amortising loan (6% total cost p.a.). SITR eligible
Leading Birmingham social enterprise Jericho Foundation is now able to expand its upcycling venture after securing £100,000 of SITR (Social Investment Tax Relief) from the Resonance West Midlands SITR Fund.
It represents our first investment from the Fund, which was launched earlier this year with £1.25m of initial investment, and is dedicated to providing affordable finance to social enterprises committed to dismantling poverty in the West Midlands.
Richard Beard, CEO at Jericho said “The investment from the Resonance Fund will increase our footprint at ReUsers by 25%. This means we should be able to grow the business and build on the fact that we have so far saved 650 tonnes of unwanted items going to landfill and supported 70 people with apprenticeships or voluntary positions – this simply would not be possible without SITR.
It represents a significant growth in our impact and it’s great to work with an investor that is so aligned with our social mission.”
Richard Beard, the CEO of Jericho Foundation, is using the cash injection to help it take on a third building in Sutton Coldfield for its ReUsers business, which takes unwanted stuff heading to the tip and turns it into items that people want to buy.
It should help it increase turnover by 25% over the next 12 months and create an extra six apprenticeships and volunteering positions for people who have significant personal or occupational barriers to employment, training or social inclusion.
“This is our second experience of SITR investment and both times it has given us access to vital funding that can be paid back at a much smaller rate of interest than we have been able to access previously,” explained Richard, who has been at Jericho Foundation for fourteen years.
“The investment from Resonance will increase our footprint at ReUsers by 25%. This means we should be able to grow the business and build on the fact that we have so far saved 650 tonnes of unwanted items going to landfill and supported 70 people with apprenticeships or voluntary positions – this simply would not be possible without SITR investment.
It represents a significant growth in our impact and it’s great to work with Resonance who are totally aligned with our social mission.”
Grace England, Investment Manager at Resonance, added her support: “I am delighted that Jericho is receiving the first investment from our new regional SITR Fund.
It has been leading the way in supporting vulnerable people here in Birmingham for many years now, and we’re really excited to support it to do more of what it does best. Jericho’s social mission is aligned with that of the Fund, as we know that barriers to training and employment continue to be significant contributors to the poverty and disadvantage that persists in our region.”
The West Midlands Fund, is our second regional SITR Fund, following the successful launch of The Bristol SITR Fund, which launched in 2016.
Across both regions we are keen to hear from social enterprises who need investment to scale up their impact and help more people in the battle to dismantle poverty.
In addition both funds are evergreen and remain open for investment, so if you are a sophisticated investor interested in investing for impact and exploring SITR further, then please find out more here.
We are aiming to launch further regional funds in the very near future, helping social enterprises across the UK achieve their impact of dismantling poverty.
Further information on the Resonance West Midlands Fund can be found here. To learn more about Jericho Foundation, you can go to www.jericho.org.uk
Resonance Limited is a company registered in England and Wales no. 04418625
Resonance Impact Investment Limited, a subsidiary of Resonance Limited, is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Firm number 588462.
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