SES is a social enterprise company that is focussed on creating and delivering sustainable enterprising strategies and actions that have impact upon individuals and communities – using enterprise in all its forms to tackle issues of poverty and inequality. We target our work within hard-pressed communities and offer services to both small businesses starting up and social enterprises. Over the years and since 1983 we have promoted, developed and supported all forms of enterprises (including social enterprise) within Wearside and North East England. SES facilitates a partnership approach to its work which targets and aims to capture the imagination of residents within deprived communities who want to start locally owned business and social enterprises. In fact, around 70% of our clients come from the more disadvantaged communities. SES implements internal and independent evaluation of its work to inform our evidence base. This includes: Social Accounting and Audit and Social Return on Investmen.SES has experienced rapid growth and expansion during 2008/09, this brought with it a change in its governance structure from an Industrial and Provident Society, regulated by the FSA to a Community Interest Company (CIC) regulated by the CIC Regulator. Despite the challenging economic conditions SES can report some record figures for 2008/09; • 577 Business start up registration compared with 500 in the previous year • 261 Business Start ups compared with 229 in 2007/08 • 21 Social Enterprises Start ups compared with 19 the previous year. • 79% business survival rate at 52 weeks, 69% at 78 weeks and 66% after 104 weeks • We also assisted 75 social enterprises, who had a combined turnover of over £15m and employ over 903 (May 2009) local residents • Average start-up cost per business created was £1,532,00 compared to £1,306.00 in the previous year with a hourly unit cost of £20.66 which is very favourable when tested in the market place. • SES purchased ‘The Mission’, a major capital investment in North Shields in order to establish a “Community Anchor” to act as a ‘hub’ for enterprise development. • Business Case proposals for £1.8m ERDF / SES Container City development for social enterprises. • SES’s Social Enterprise support service has been instrumental in securing £2,370,000 worth of investment funding a further £3.2m social enterprise investment pending for their social enterprise clients, a further £599,326 was raised for the ‘traditional business start up clients’. • New View SES employability project assisted 171 local residents into a job. • SES business start programme witnessed a welfare benefit saving of £1,204,733 per annum in addition to £540,671 extra personal disposable income generated. • SROI indicator for SES business start-up programme was £5.29: £1 whilst SES New View Employability programme was £2.18:£1 providing a combined rate of £7.47: £1.

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Business Support / Sustainability