UK’s top social businesses index

In times of recession the top 100 fastest growing social enterprises in the UK grew on average by 60% this year, reveals the annual RBS SE100 Index, this year at its third edition. The aim of the index, created by Matter & Co in partnership with RBS Community Banking and RBS Inspiring Enterprise, is to chart the success of social businesses across the UK  by examining both their growth and their social impact.

The index also found that the top 100 fastest growers had an 85% higher turnover than last year’s top 100. Another important data emerges from the index: on average, 45% of leadership teams in social enterprises are made up of women.

The entries were divided into two sections: the Main index, for mature organizations with more than three years of accounts and the Newcomers Index for startup organizations, which have been trading for fewer than three years. The RBS SE100 Index tracked the business activity of 365 social enterprises, who  turned over  £778 million and created £19 million of profit between them.

As Nick Hurd, Minister for Civil Society pointed out: “ The RBS SE100 Index is a useful tool for social sector analysis, it tells what  social enterprises can contribute to growth and opportunity in the UK ”.  It paints a portrait of the social enterprise sector and its business journey over several years, tracking both the financial and social elements of the sector, which is proving to be very successful. “ The RBS SE100 Index is telling us that in a tough economic year this is the sector to watch as the top 100 enterprises are still growing at an incredible rate”, says Alastair Grieg, Chief Operating Officer, Business & Commerical Bankings, RBS.