A lending and borrowing website has launched as a social enterprise and hopes to help charities make and save money through lending, borrowing and hiring.

The Bid & Borrow website enables individuals and organisations to list items or skills that others can hire or borrow. Charities can raise money by hiring out goods or services and save money by borrowing from others.

It is free to join and list items. Bid & Borrow will charge between 5 and 9 per cent commission on successful hires, but nothing if the item is listed to lend for free, to help cover the cover the running costs of the site.

Organisations can also set up a sharing network to connect donors, staff and suppliers in designated private area of the site.

Furthermore, Bid and Borrow can set up a landing page for the each network, market it and show organisations how they can get the best out of it.

The University of Sussex Student’s Union is already using a network to share books and other items.