Big Society Capital

What Big Society Capital does

Better Society Capital (formerly Big Society Capital) is a London-based, FCA-regulated private limited company founded in 2012 that operates as a market builder for the UK social impact investment sector. The company positions itself as a trusted bridge between institutional capital, government policy, and social-purpose organisations, channelling investment into four thematic areas: housing, economic opportunity, climate and energy, and health. Its stated market impact is material: it attributes the growth of the UK social impact investment market from £830m in 2011 to £11.2bn at end-2024 — a 13x increase — partly to its stewardship, and it deployed £2.1bn of commitments in 2024 alone.

The company's product surface combines direct investment portfolio management, a public market product (the Schroder BSC Social Impact Trust), advisory services for institutional investors (BSC Advisory), and proprietary research assets including the Better Society Index and annual market sizing reports. There is no disclosed proprietary technology platform, AI/ML capability, or software product; the operating model is relationship-driven and intermediated through partner fund managers rather than a direct-to-consumer technology stack. Distribution is built on direct partnerships with trusts, foundations, mainstream investors, UK government departments, and social enterprises/charities, with co-design of public-sector programmes as a distinct go-to-market lever.

The firm is headquartered at Script, 44 Featherstone Street, London, with 11-50 employees and leadership including a CEO (Stephen Muers), CFO (David Burndred) and CIO (Jeremy Rogers). No company-level revenue, pricing model, or capital structure is disclosed in the public material, and there is no mention of funding rounds, M&A activity, or parent-company ownership, suggesting an independent operating posture. The business model implicitly combines fee-related revenue from managed portfolios and advisory with a market-building mandate that depends on continued government and institutional alignment.

Name

Big Society Capital

Legal name

Better Society Capital Limited

Website

https://bigsocietycapital.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Better Society Capital (formerly Big Society Capital) is an FCA-regulated London-based market builder that channels institutional and government capital into UK social impact investments across housing, economic opportunity, climate, and health.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social Impact Investment

NAICS

Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Sustainable Private Markets (Impact PE/VC, Private Credit, Infrastructure) (FSAAALAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Corporate Finance & Capital Advisory (BPAHADAB), Institutional Capital Introduction (LP/Family Office/Endowment Matching) (FSAEALAI)

Keywords

• Social impact investing
• Investment fund management
• Impact advisory services
• Social investment market
• Fund manager partnerships

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Better Society Capital (formerly Big Society Capital) is a UK social impact investment organization that manages a diversified portfolio of investments across housing, economic opportunity, climate and energy, and health sectors. It operates as a bridge organization deploying capital from institutional investors, trusts, foundations and government through intermediary fund managers to grow the UK social impact investment market, and offers advisory services to investors seeking social impact investment opportunities.

Product overview

Better Society Capital operates as a social impact investment organization, functioning as a trusted bridge between capital and social purpose. The organization manages investment portfolios across housing, economic opportunity, climate and energy, and health sectors, with offerings including the Schroder BSC Social Impact Trust, BSC Advisory services, the Better Society Index research tool, and annual market sizing reports. The company focuses on growing the UK social impact investment market, which has grown from £830m in 2011 to £11.2bn in 2024.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Investment Portfolio Management Managing a diversified portfolio of social impact investments across housing, economic opportunity, climate and energy, and health sectors in the UK on behalf of institutional investors, trusts, foundations and government.
• Schroder BSC Social Impact Trust A social impact investment trust that provides returns to investors while creating measurable social outcomes across targeted sectors.
• BSC Advisory Advisory services for investors seeking to navigate social impact investment opportunities and develop investment strategies.

Quantifiable outcome

• Grew social impact investment market from £830m (2011) to £11.2bn (2024)

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Social Finance UK: UK-based social enterprise intermediary designing Social Impact Bonds and outcomes-based contracts with government. Direct peer in intermediating between investors, government, and social-sector delivery bodies — overlapping strongly with BSC's 'bridging' role.
• Big Issue Invest: UK social investment arm of The Big Issue, providing loans and investments to social enterprises and charities. Direct competitor in deploying capital to UK social-purpose organisations through intermediary and direct structures.
• Triodos Investment Management: European sustainable and impact investment manager with deep UK institutional penetration. Directly comparable as a regulated impact fund manager offering multi-strategy sustainable investment funds to UK and European investors.
• Bridges Fund Management: UK-focused impact-focused private equity and venture fund manager investing across health, education, and sustainable living. Most direct comparable in terms of UK impact fund intermediation, structure (FCA-regulated), and investor base (institutional LPs and foundations).
• Nesta (formerly NESTA Impact Investments): UK innovation foundation operating venture and growth-stage impact investment funds alongside policy and research activity. Comparable in serving as a UK-based mission-driven investment platform combining grant-making with financial returns.

Broad incumbents

• Schroders plc: Global asset manager that co-manages the Schroder BSC Social Impact Trust and operates wider sustainable and impact strategies. Broader incumbent with overlapping UK sustainable investment capabilities but vastly larger and more generalist.
• UK Infrastructure Bank: UK government-backed wholesale investor supporting infrastructure and clean growth projects. Comparable as a UK state-backed impact-aligned wholesale investor partnering with private capital, particularly in climate and housing-adjacent themes.

Regional players

• Acumen: Global impact investment fund focused on low-income markets across Africa and South Asia. Comparable mission-driven wholesale impact investor serving as a market-builder, but operates in different geographies than BSC's UK-only focus.

Others

• Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN): Industry body advancing impact investing globally. Not a capital allocator but provides the framework, taxonomy, and benchmarking (IRIS+, impact reporting) that BSC's products and reporting standards rely on — adjacent ecosystem participant.

Emerging players

• Impact Ventures UK / Ascension (formerly ClearlySo): UK impact investment advisory and fund manager serving social enterprises. Smaller, more specialist player with comparable intermediary role between social enterprises and impact investors, but narrower product set.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/BigSocietyCap
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/big-society-capital

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments6 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Big Society Capital