Challenge

Thousands of individuals in the UK are categorised as long-term unemployed, and many face various difficulties when trying to enter the workforce. 

The Grace Enterprises story dates back to 2007, when founder Matt Parfitt felt called to leave his job as a primary school teacher to become an employer of people with major barriers to work. 

The vision was always bigger than one single business, so Grace Enterprises was started in 2017 in partnership with Grace Church Nottingham, with the aim of multiplying opportunities for sustainable job creation.

However, they were experiencing certain barriers to growth. Not owning a van meant that the events business couldn’t take on smaller jobs, while the cleaning business faced cash flow challenges due to invoicing in arrears. 

Solution 

Grace Enterprises run diverse businesses which focus on employing people with barriers to work, paying the Real Living Wage and providing the holistic support needed to set employees up for success.

They secured social investment to buy a van for Jubilee Events, enabling them to save money and streamline operations, while allowing them to take on more work in the form of smaller, more frequent jobs. 

They also used a portion of the finance to manage cash flow for the growing cleaning organisation, while also building up the reserves for Grace Enterprises itself. 

Revenue

Income is generated through multiple trading subsidiaries: 

Radiant Cleaners offer exceptional commercial cleaning services to businesses in Nottingham and beyond, looking after employees in the way that we all would want to be treated. 

Jubilee Events focus on marquee hire, offering temporary structures for weddings, parties and corporate events across the East Midlands. 

Half the Story make delicious, crunchy shortbread biscuits that melt in the mouth. But as the name suggests, that’s only half the story; they create supportive job roles within the bakery for those who have experienced homelessness. 

Each business delivers a quality service or product for their customers, but the real impact comes through the life-changing employment opportunities provided to those who need it most.  

Impact 

Grace Enterprises has employed 120 people overall, with 50 current employees -  40% of those had been unemployed for more than a year prior to starting their job. 

Many employees are able to use the job as a stepping stone, gaining experience and support when they need it most, before being assisted to move on to further employment or training opportunities.

94% of employees agree that working for a Grace Enterprises business affects their life positively, with holistic well-being metrics also improving through employment. 

Overall, these businesses have delivered more than 18.5K in hours of Real Living Wage work to date, and social investment is empowering them to sustainably grow and create more supportive employment. 

“It would have been really easy for Social Investment Business to reject us straightaway, tell us it was all a bit too complicated and to come back in a few years. Instead, they took the time to get to know our organisation and how it’s structured, taking into consideration our innovative, pioneering structure that encompassed a charity and multiple businesses. They had a genuine desire to help us to change more lives and found a way to make that work. It wasn’t always straight forward and the fact that we got through everything in the end was impressive in itself!” 

Matt Parfitt, Founder of Grace Enterprises 

“We are pleased to have invested in Grace Enterprises Nottingham through the Thrive Together Fund.  Grace Enterprises makes a substantial impact in tackling long term unemployment through creating supportive, paid jobs for people who face significant barriers to work.  The Thrive Together investment enabled Grace Enterprises to purchase a van for its event marquee business, Jubilee Events, in order to increase the number of events which can be run and in turn increase employment hours and impact.  The investment also provided working capital which supported the organisation to grow and take on new contracts.”

Claire Goodwin, Senior Relationships Manager at Social Investment Business