At a time when child poverty and inequalities in housing and health are deepening, the need for investment in socially impactful projects has never been greater. It is therefore encouraging to see the continued strength and resilience of the UK’s social impact investment market, and the sustained flow of capital into models tackling complex social challenges.

The release of our 2024 market sizing data provides an opportunity to reflect on the goal we set in 2021: to double the size of the market to £10-15 billion by 2025. Despite turbulence across wider financial markets, we are proud to be well on track to deliver this, working alongside partners to grow the market by over 100% by the end of this year.

As in previous years, the data within this report is across the four areas, or asset-classes, we identified in our 2020-2025 strategy as areas for growth. This includes investment in social and affordable property, lending to charities and social enterprises, impact venture and social outcomes partnerships. You can find out more about the spread of investment and methodology in the following sections within this report.

Looking ahead to our next strategic phase to 2030, we welcome the Government’s announcement of the Better Futures Fund in July and the establishment of the Office for the Impact Economy in November. The £500 million fund aims to break down barriers to opportunity for up to 200,000 vulnerable children and young people - marking a new era of growth for the market through social outcomes partnerships. The new Office will serve as a hub for impact investors, philanthropists and purpose-driven organisations, supporting efforts to address critical social and environmental challenges through impact investing. Together, these developments signal an important step towards aligning social investment with national priorities - from job creation and enterprise growth to public service reform and housing.

We look forward to working with Government, civil society, investors, social enterprises and local communities to unlock capital, empower local authorities, and mobilise the social impact investment market to tackle the UK’s most pressing social issues.

Stephen Muers

CEO