A platform for charities to issue social bonds is to be launched by Investing for Good, which developed the Scope bond last year.

A spokesman from Investing for Good said investment raised by the first charities on the platform will strengthen youth programmes tackling crime and substance misuse and support adults with learning disabilities.

Mark Nuttall, partner at Linklaters who provided legal advice for the Scope bond, said: “This structure will be a significant 'first' in establishing the first bond platform under which multiple UK charities and similar social purpose organisations may benefit from the funds raised through tradeable capital markets instruments.”

Geoff Burnand (pictured), CEO of Investing for Good, added: “This platform brings the evolution of the social investment market another step forward towards our vision to connect money to social value.”

The upcoming platform plans to also formalise the collection and reporting of impact data in the offer documentation and provide investors with annual impact ratings and reports on each social purpose organisation to focus on the value achieved.

Scope raised £2m from its bond issue last year.

Good Analyst wins impact adviser role

Elsewhere, the Good Analyst, which was incubated by Investing for Good, has been appointed impact adviser to the City of London Corporation’s social investment fund.

The £20m City of London social investment fund has two objectives, to provide loans, and quasi-equity and equity as risk capital, to charities and social enterprises; and help develop the social investment market.

The fund is run by the City of London Corporation’s charity, the City Bridge Trust.

It has already made three investments into social investment products launched by three charities – Broadway, Mencap and Oxfam.

The Good Analyst will embed social impact analysis and assessment into the fund’s investment decision process. It will also help investors assess and track over time the social value of a social investment.

Social Investment Business will work in partnership with Good Analyst on impact work for the City of London Corporation’s social investment fund.

Growing interest in social investment 

The City of London Corporation recently held a conference on policy development, in the UK and abroad, on the social and impact investment market.

Speaking to civilsociety.co.uk, Katie Hill, social investment advisor for the City of London Corporation, said the UK had an enormous headstart with initiatives such as Big Society Capital, the world’s first social investment wholesaler.

She added that in the last 18 months there had been growing interest from a variety of investors, including wealth managers, in social and impact investments.

The City of London Corporation event saw the launch of the London Principles, developed to support the formation of policy around social investment worldwide. 

In further news, RBS SE100 Index, a listing of social ventures ranked according to their growth and social impact, has launched as a live online platform which helps organisations track their growth and impact.