Social Enterprise

We support social enterprises – both as advisors and as advocates for the movement.

We’re a rare mix of social enterprise lawyers and sector-leading financing, investment and impact advisers. Together, we give social enterprises the best start from day one. We help them set up governing documents in line with their values, arrange loans and approach investors. As a full service law firm we can produce people-friendly employment contracts and supplier agreements that drive sustainability, alongside providing day to day help with IP, disputes, real estate and more.

How we help

We’re here for every business with a social purpose. Over the decades, we’ve helped countless social enterprises get started, including Charity Bank and Big Society Capital.

We’ve also championed policies that make doing business easier for social enterprises everywhere. We worked with government to introduce the CIC (Community Interest Company) model and made the case for social investment tax relief.

We also helped to create Purposely, a free government-backed digital tool that helps businesses to simply embed purpose.

Explore

Purpose & Impact: your roundup

Welcome to your roundup – a monthly selection of news hand-picked to keep you up to date with what’s going …
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The Procurement Act 2023: new regime goes live

The Procurement Act 2023 is now in force. Explore our Procurement teams’ top takeaways on the Government’s strategic priorities following …
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New company guide empowers UK company directors to embed sustainability information in financial reporting

Bates Wells has contributed to a new guide, issued by the True & Fair Project, to support UK company directors …
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What’s next for UK environmental protection?

On 24 January, the Climate and Nature (CAN) Bill was ‘adjourned’ to 11 July after politicians were denied the opportunity …
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“Yes we CAN”: The new Climate and Nature Bill

The Climate and Nature Bill has its second reading in Parliament on 24 January and we’re one of hundreds of …
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