Social Enterprise UK has unveiled plans for a “soft rebrand”, in an effort to bring several brands under one roof, its chief executive Peter Holbrook said today.

The rebrand follows demand for “more traditional and classic” branding by the social enterprise body's "present and future" stakeholders, according to Holbrook.

The new “clean and timeless” website was designed in an effort to “stand the test of time,” and represent the organisation's ethos of an equal society, Holbrook said.

“The icon at first glance looks like an ‘S’, but a closer look reveals an equals sign which represents business for a more equality society,” he said.

Holbrook said the driving force behind the rebrand was the need to bring various brands together under one roof.

“As often happens in organisations, we found ourselves with too many different looks for our various events, campaigns and programmes of work – and they needed to be recognisable as belonging to the same family.

"Our business model has also changed. First and foremost we’re a social enterprise membership organisation, but we also do business with corporates, charities, housing associations, government departments, local authorities and others. The challenge was to create a brand that speaks to this diverse mix of audiences," he said.

The new brand will be rolled out gradually, “starting with the reskinning of our website”, Holbrook said. “It will take a little time to embed as we work behind the scenes to ensure that our members and partners have everything they need.”

The group has not confirmed the cost of the redesign. A spokeswoman for the SEUK said it has kept its original website, simply “reskinning” it in line with the rebrand.

SEUK represents social enterprises around the UK with the aim of growing and helping to develop the social enterprise movement. It currently has 829 members, according to its last annual impact report.