A Cornwall based social enterprise is the latest to receive a £10,000 Launchpad Loan from the Health & Wellbeing Challenge Fund (South West) (H&WCF), managed by social investment company Resonance. The Cornwall Yoga Centre, located in Truro, needs to update the centre to allow it to run more sessions and to provide a better user experience.  The loan will provide the cash flow to support operations whilst developing its workplace courses, which will include ‘Aging Well’, ‘Better Backs’ and ‘Managing Stress’.

The Launchpad Loan product gives social enterprises a taste of taking on investment. The Fund initially invests £10,000 in the social enterprise, allowing them interest only payments for twelve months. During this period Resonance works with the social enterprise to support them in their growth plans with the intention of providing a larger investment to help them make a step change in their growth. Launchpad Loans help social enterprises that require a significant injection of capital, but need to take this in “bite sized chunks”, as they build-up confidence in using social impact investment to grow their impact and get used to servicing and reporting on investment.

Tom Crook, Senior Investment Analyst for the Fund, explains further: “From speaking with social enterprises across the South West, we found many that were looking to grow but lacked the confidence to take on investment to achieve this growth, often concerned about overcommitting themselves to initial interest and capital repayments.  Our Launchpad Loans help mitigate these concerns, and also give social enterprises their first exposure to investment capital. Our main aim for this product is to allow enterprises to make a step change in their social impact and to see this as a stepping stone on their journey to sustainability.”

The Health & Wellbeing Challenge Fund is an impact investment fund established with investment from the Growth Fund and South West Academic Health Science Network (SWAHSN). The Growth Fund is managed by Access – The Foundation for Social Investment and is funded from the Big Lottery Fund and Big Society Capital. The Fund seeks to make social impact investment more accessible and relevant to smaller social enterprises looking to expand their operations and impact in the South West linked to the broad theme of Health & Wellbeing.

The Cornwall Yoga Centre offers a variety of yoga and physical engagements to people recuperating from serious illnesses and those managing mental health issues. The space also has rooms that are rented to individual practitioners providing counselling and support.  This Launchpad Loan will help Cornwall Yoga Centre with its cashflow to complete some building before eventually taking on a larger loan in order to transform its current base into a Health & Wellbeing Hub and expand its services into the workplace.

Aimee Blackman, Managing Director at Cornwall Yoga Centre said: “Investment from Resonance is a great way to kick start the next phase of development. We have a strong trading base and are confident that we can use this investment to improve our company’s presence in the community so that it can become an ever more useful tool for the wellbeing of individuals.”

Leila Sharland, Resonance Fund Manager explains why the centre was a good fit for the Fund: “Cornwall Yoga Centre stands out as being an organization that is determined to break the mould when it comes to yoga and its aim to make the centre truly accessible and not just the preserve of a small group of people.”