Social enterprises in the UK are ramping up diversity and inclusion efforts even as they face new challenges, exclusive data reveals.
Based on more than 800 applications submitted to the SE100 Index and Social Business Awards over the past five years, our analysis seeks to gauge the mood – and trends – in UK social enterprise through the lens of SE100 applicants.
SE100 is run by Pioneers Post in partnership with NatWest Social and Community Capital every year to select, celebrate and learn from the UK’s most impressive social enterprises. To apply, social enterprises must fill a thorough application of more than 80 in-depth questions, ranging from business performance to impact measurement and environmental efforts.
- Explore the SE100 collection
SE100 applicants are a specific subset of the UK social enterprise community: because they are applying for awards, they are more likely to be in a good position from a business and impact perspective and show “best in class” practices. While by nature, their responses will tend to be more positive than for social enterprises in general, our analysis of five years’ worth of data reveals insightful trends for the sector.
Who are the SE100 applicants?
Overall, SE100 applicants show similar profiles year after year. A large majority are long-established: for each of the past four years, more than two thirds of candidates have been operating for five years or more, and less than one in six have been operating for less than three years.
The main sectors in which they operate have also remained consistent over the years: education, employment, health and social care and climate and the environment. About nine out of ten have measures in place to address their environmental impact.
Their two most common legal structures are company limited by guarantee and community interest company (CIC) limited by guarantee, and just under a third have charitable status. They are often led by women – every year since 2021, more than two-thirds of SE100 applicants said their leadership teams numbered more women than men.
The most recent winners include 2025’s ‘social business pioneers’ Greenwich Leisure Limited (GLL), which started running swimming pools and other leisure facilities more than 30 years ago, and which now manages 260 leisure businesses across the UK, and Health & Independent Living Support (HILS), which supports older people. This year’s ‘pioneering newcomer’ was Standing Tall, which matches homeless people with jobs and assists them to find safe places to live.
- Discover the SE100 2025 winners
