Over £1.2million has been invested into organisations working in Bolton, Stockport, Oldham and Wigan as part of Proper Good Investment, an investment programme designed to creative positive change in communities.
The investment programme, delivered by GMCVO, offers affordable and accessible social investment for social enterprises, community businesses and trading charities that are creating social impact in Bolton, Stockport, Oldham and Wigan.
Proper Good Investment offers two strands of investment:
1. Early stage: interest-free investments up to £30,000 to support early growth.
2. Buildings: investments up to £350,000 with a grant element of 10% to lease or purchase buildings, or to renovate or refurbish a building already owned.
Since the investment programme launched in 2022, the following investments have been made to organisations across the four boroughs:
Drawing Board Productions CIC
£30,000 (Early stage investment – September 2022)
Stockport based Drawing Board Productions CIC support and connect local communities through free, not-for-profit, positive hyperlocal community newspapers. They provide a platform for all sectors of a community to share their news & information, helping to inform, inspire and connect.
They used their £30k interest-free loan to distribute more newspapers directly to homes within the local areas they cover and to launch a hyperlocal newspaper in four additional communities within Stockport and South Manchester.
Inside eCommerce Academy CIC
£30,000 (Early stage investment – January 2023)
The Inside Academy, based in Wigan, provides modern and enterprising business courses to those with the most complex barriers to employment who have been through the criminal justice system. They offer fully-accredited courses and through-the-gate support upon release to maximise the chances of success on the outside.
They used their £30k interest-free loan to purchase stock for their trading element ‘Second Chance Clothing’; a vintage and pre-loved clothing store on eBay which generates financial income for Inside Academy to deliver their courses.
Driven CIO
£20,000 (Early stage investment – May 2023)
Driven is a charitable door-to-door transport scheme supporting vulnerable and isolated people in Wigan Borough. Driven helps to provide essential transport solutions for passengers who do not have access to a car and are unable to travel on public transport. They remove barriers to social inclusion and support people to get out of their homes and engage activities provided by some brilliant projects across the local area.
They used their £20k interest-free loan to contribute to both overheads and salaries as they recovered from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Recycle-IT! (Bolton) CIC
£30,000 (Early stage investment – February 2024)
Recycle-IT! offer recycling services for both individuals and businesses, with a focus on electronic waste recycling. They are committed to reducing waste and providing low-cost equipment to people in local communities to create a positive impact on the environment and the community.
They used their £30k interest-free loan to grow their income-generation strategies, helping them secure new premises, improve marketing and referral process, and increase their refurbishment capacity.
Leigh Spinners Mill (Leigh Building Preservation Trust Ltd)
£350,000 (Buildings investment – February 2024)
Leigh Building Preservation Trust was initially established to secure the restoration of the Grade II listed Leigh Spinner Mill, the largest building in Leigh and one of the finest late era mills in the UK. Since 2015, they has undertaken a lot of work with an initial plan to restore and preserve the engine house, steam engine, and spaces, which later developed into the creation of around 100,000 square feet of useable office, commercial and leisure space for renting to tenants/licensees, many of whom are not for profit.
They used the investment to complete fire safety and contribute to the refurbishment costs on floor 5 of the Mill, where they will establish a Community Hub, providing 20 additional lettable office spaces as well as approximately 6,000sqft of exhibition and event space, a heritage store and volunteer hub, opening June 2024!
IntraQuest CIC
£350,000 (Buildings investment – January 2023 (£220,000) & May 2023 (£130,000))
Oldham based IntraQuest are a learning and wellbeing social enterprise, whose core offer includes therapeutic support packages for schools, specialist learning services for professionals and wellbeing services for individuals, including therapy, counselling, and coaching services.
They used the investments to continue the development of their current facilities, creating new therapy pods, refurbishing their stables, children's play area, as well as some other outdoor spaces.
Be the Change Youth Project CIC
£30,000 (Buildings investment, May 2023)
Be The Change is an award winning youth organisation based in Bolton. They deliver weekly football sessions and a wide range of other sports and arts programmes, knife crime prevention workshops and mentoring activity.
The investment was used to help them establish their business model within a newly leased space, covering development planning, initial rent costs, as well as contributing to core salary costs.
Leigh Works Ltd
£262,571 (Buildings investment, December 2023)
Leigh Works is a co-working space located in Leigh, Greater Manchester, offering a unique combination of hot-desks, private spaces, and serviced offices, along with a range of specialist facilities such as electronics lab, audio video studio, dark room, 3D printing, rapid prototyping, VR and more. They aim to facilitate the collaboration and innovation of businesses based there and have a positive knock-on effect on the community, revitalising Leigh’s economy and town centre.
The investment was used is to scale u their facilities by relocating to a new location and establishing the Broseley House Creative Hub which is opening in Summer 2024.
Pianos, Pies, and Pirouettes CIC
£130,000 (Buildings investment, December 2023)
Wigan-based Pianos, Pies, and Pirouettes CIC primarily use dance and music to combat deep-rooted educational, economic and social barriers which prevent people from some of the most deprived areas of Wigan from achieving their fullest potential, both from a health and an employment perspective.
They provide a wide range of performing arts services including dance lessons, dance sessions at schools, script writing and theatrical production learning sessions.
They used the investment to refinance a previous loan and establish their dance school in a newly leased property. The investment covered refurbishment costs and rent for year, as well as salaries, marketing and contingency costs.
Visit here to find out more about Social Investment offered by GMCVO.
Get in touch with our friendly team if you are interested about investment: gmsocinvest@gmcvo.org.uk
Proper Good Investment is part of the Local Access Programme which is being jointly funded by Better Society Capital and Access – The Foundation for Social Investment. It aims to support the growth of local social economies to help reduce poverty and inequality. Visit here to find out more about how local delivery leads in each area are supporting social entrepreneurs to develop socially responsible businesses.
