There are 100,000 social enterprises in the UK which together contributed £60bn to the UK economy, according new research.
The Hidden Revolution, published by Social Enterprise UK yesterday said the sector contributes £60bn, much more than the previous estimate of £24bn, after changing the methodology to include larger social enterprises such as building societies and co-operatives.
SEUK, supported by the Co-op Group and Nationwide Building Society, found that the sector employs 2 million people and accounts for 3 per cent of GDP.
For the first time, the research included the impact of 5,000 larger social enterprises as well as small and medium ones.
The previous research had been carried out by government using the Small Business Survey and has not been updated in five years.
The research also found that 47 per cent of social enterprises grew their turnover over the past 12 months, compared to 34 per cent of UK businesses.
SEUK said that the government must now take more notice of the social enterprise sector.
Lord Victor Adebowale, chair of SEUK, said: “Their £60bn contribution to the UK is too big to ignore and is just the start of something that the government must get behind. If it doesn’t, there is a real risk that the UK will get left behind as other countries recognise social enterprise as the future of business.”
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