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

Briefing for Charities & Social Enterprises | 7 July

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 Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and Charity Commission framework DCMS and the Charity Commission have published a framework document which sets …
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Briefing for Charities & Social Enterprises | 30 June

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 At the Third Sector Conference 2026, Charity Commission Chair Dame Julia Unwin gave a speech about “The Commission’s role in uncertain times”. She discussed …
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Purpose & Impact: your round-up | June

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 Climate & Biodiversity Impact Investing Social Enterprise ESG Corporate purpose This summer, Bates Wells will be hosting our annual Be More …
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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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Bates Wells Impact Report 2025

We are united as a firm in our values and in our purpose. We want to use the law as a force for good, helping charities and purposeful businesses to be better and bolder in their choices. We also want to be the best type of business that we can be, and to bring others …
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Meet our team