Age UK Enterprises (ACEnt), the commercial services arm of charity Age UK, has become a Social Enterprise Mark (SEM) holder.

ACEnt incorporates a variety of different services designed to meet the needs of the elderly, including Age UK Energy, Age Concern Insurance Services and Age UK Guaranteed Funeral Plans.

It is the first national, customer-facing, financial services organisation to be awarded the Mark.

Lucy Findlay, chief executive of the Social Enterprise Mark Company, said: “We are delighted to award the prestigious Social Enterprise Mark to Age UK Enterprises, as they are one of the longest-established and largest social enterprises in the UK.

"It is particularly exciting to award the first financial services company the Mark, which will hopefully restore some of the confidence which has been lost during the recent, difficult economic climate.

“We hope that the Social Enterprise Mark will do for social enterprises what the Fair Trade Mark did for fair trade.”

Social Enterprise Mark holders include the Big Issue, the Eden Project and the Co-operative Group South & West.