Social Enterprise West Midlands and Social Enterprise UK announce new joint partnership

Social Enterprise West Midlands (SEWM) and Social Enterprise UK (SEUK) have announced a joint decision to partner more strategically, and to integrate their activities over the coming year.

The partners have agreed the move in order to build and strengthen the UK’s largest social enterprise network: in combination, they have around 1100 social enterprise members. From the end of June SEWM, currently part of the Aspire Group, will join SEUK - both organisations are keen to develop a stronger partnership, in order to deliver the support, brokerage, campaigns and information that best serves the needs of their members and the wider social enterprise movement.

SEWM will maintain its staff team and offices in Birmingham, with additional support from the SEUK team and infrastructure. Both organisations will be consulting their members and key stakeholders on the most suitable approaches to integrating the businesses over the coming 12 months.

Sinéad Butters, Aspire Group Chief Executive said:

“The SEWM team have done a fantastic job over recent years, delivering real member benefit and leadership to the sector in the region, whilst increasing income year-on-year. SEWM and SEUK have worked together successfully on a range of projects in the last 5 years, including the Buy Social Directory and Social Saturday. This new partnership with SEUK will only serve to strengthen such work - and the support for social enterprises regionally and nationally.”

Peter Holbrook CBE, Chief Executive of Social Enterprise UK, said:

“We are very happy to be working so closely with SEWM, which rightly has a fantastic reputation for the work it does in the Midlands and beyond. Together, we believe we can deliver the very best for our social enterprise members. We have much to learn from the pioneering work that the SEWM team has been doing, in areas such as social value, housing and membership services. We look forward to working with them over the coming months and years - and being a stronger collective for the social enterprise movement.”