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 round-up | October

Welcome to your round-up: a monthly selection of news hand-picked to help keep you up to date, for businesses, investors and others working to create positive impact. Jump to: Corporate purpose B Corps Social enterprise Climate & biodiversity Impact investing Corporate purpose Bates Wells’ Louise Harman and Oliver Scutt will be at Blue Earth Summit …
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Briefing for Charities & Social Enterprises | 13 October

Our weekly round up of news and updates from across the sector. To help you navigate this week’s content, the links below will take you straight to content by topic. Charity Commission The Charity Commission says it has made further updates to its guidance Sales, leases, transfers or mortgages: what trustees need to know about …
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Briefing for Charities & Social Enterprises | 6 October

Our weekly roundup of news and updates from across the sector. To help you navigate this week’s content, the links below will take you straight to content by topic. Charity Commission The Charity Commission has published its 2025-2026 report on whistleblowing disclosures. The Commission has seen an increase in whistleblowing disclosures. It has also found …
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Bates Wells Impact Report 2026

We have an ongoing responsibility to create lasting positive change through our work with clients and our operations. Our role as lawyers is to help shape the systems, governance models and legal frameworks that support a more sustainable nature-positive economy. Our 2026 Impact Report focuses on environmental leadership in action and the ways in which …
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Top 5 tips for universities supporting Social Ventures 

On 9th October 2025, Bates Wells, in partnership with London Social Ventures (LSV), recently hosted an in-person panel event dedicated to exploring how universities can best support founders of social ventures. Bringing together university representatives, experienced founders, and sector experts, the event provided a platform for sharing practical insights and real-world experiences. With a lively …
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Meet our team