Press release

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Tuesday 5 Febuary 2008

ACF signs contract to manage Futurebuilders fund

The Adventure Capital Fund (ACF) officially secured the tender to deliver the second phase of the Futurebuilders fund today (5 February 2008), signing the contract at the Cabinet Office.

As well as managing existing investments, the ACF will invest an additional £65m on top of the £150 already available to the Futurebuilders Fund. The £215m total will be used to develop third sector delivery of public services for the second stage (running from 1 April 2008 until 31 March 2011) of the government funded scheme.

Johnathan Lewis, Chief Executive of the ACF, said: “ACF is delighted and extremely excited to have won the re-tender for the contract to manage the Futurebuilder’s fund. The history of Futurebuilders has shown how important such a scheme is for third sector organisations. Through a mixture of loans, grants and professional support FBE have been able to offer the resources for third sector organisations to deliver greatly improved public services.

“ACF is looking forward to building on the success of the programme. In the next few weeks we will be meeting with all the staff to discuss ensuring that Futurebuilders continues to deliver its ground-breaking and significant service to all existing and future applicants and investees.”

Ends

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Notes to Editors

ACF – developed by the community sector and funded by government, is an ambitious investment fund that supports growth and success in community enterprises.

By enabling community organisations to generate a variety of sources of income, the ACF helps reduce dependency on grants and allow organisations to determine their own futures.

With the appointment of new chief executive, Jonathan Lewis, the next stage of its development will see the ACF become the most effective, most innovative and most expert community support and investment company in the country.

What makes the ACF different?

The ACF differs from other community investment programmes because its investment package provides support and back-up to direct and nurture its investees. The ACF ensures that all investees receive expert advice from a highly skilled network of Supporters, and that they receive the right training to develop skills that will help them make the successful transition from bright idea to sustainable enterprise. By taking this level of responsibility for its investees, the ACF can invest in community organisations with little or no track record that other investors might consider too risky.

Furthermore, the investment process is as flexible, non bureaucratic and simple as possible in order to make it accessible and appealing to prospective investees. The ACF invests a lot, and expects a lot from its investments, with returns based on financial growth and social impact.

The ACF Investments

The ACF was launched in December 2002 as a £2 million, one year programme but in the following two years and with three injections of further funds it has grown to become a £13.5 million, multi-year programme.

The ACF has focused on investing in small to medium to large-sized organisations active in multiply-deprived neighbourhoods or working with marginalised communities. The organisations in the ACF portfolio exhibit great diversity in terms of motivating forces that inspire them, the activities they undertake, the length of time they have been in operation and their geographical spread.

The ACF portfolio includes:

• Moss Side and Hulme Community Development Trust, Manchester
• Lister Steps, Liverpool
• Action for Business, Bradford
• E-MPLOY, London
• Centre for Music and Arts Technology, Birmingham

The ACF provides a combination of investment and support. The investment funding takes the form of Patient Capital, Seed Capital and Working Capital. The support takes the form of Business Development Grants (BDG) and independent experts, referred to as Supporters, who provide strategic advice.

Some of the investment schemes include:

The Main Investment Fund: offering a mixture of loans and grants totalling £50,000 to £750,000 along with a comprehensive package of support.

The Managed Workspace Fund: provides loans and grants of £50,000 to £750,000 to community enterprises looking to set up a managed workspace facility.

The Business Development Fund: provides a grant of up to £15,000 for community enterprises that are in the early stages of development.

For more information on ACF visit www.adventurecapitalfund.org.uk