Report highlights key market trends that we at…

Ivjyot Singh Oberoi
Ivjyot joined Social Finance in 2022 as part of The Analyst Programme.

Social Finance was commissioned by the Impact Investing Institute (III) as their research partners for their second report estimating the size and potential of the UK impact investing market. Our findings demonstrate how this growing market, now estimated at £76.8 billion, can potentially transform everybody’s lives.

This report highlights the huge opportunities that exist and the potential for impact investment to radically improve our daily lives. More than that, it shows how these investments benefit everyone with skin in the game

Lisa Nandy, Secretary of State for Culture Media and Sport

Read The UK impact investing market report 2024 here

Our research for The UK Impact Investing Market Report 2024 is based on primary data collection centred around a market participant survey conducted in partnership with Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN). The survey conducted captured insights from 72 market participants doing impact investing from the UK. Quantitative insights were complemented with qualitative insights gathered through 35 semi-structured interviews with a variety of market participants and experts in the UK and globally.

For the first time this year, The Impact Investing Institute collaborated with GIIN on data collection, and this marks a significant advance in increasing the alignment of various impact investing market sizing efforts, as well as the comparatibility of market sizing figures across different markets.

76.8 billion

Size of impact investing market in assets under management (AUM) as at end of 2023

19.3 billion

Increase in market size since inaugural report published 2022

The headline figures show how much the market is growing despite the challenging market conditions, which of course is exciting, but at Social Finance we’re also interested in how the report’s findings reflect what we’re seeing in our social impact work, including:

Increased focus on place-based impact investing and giving power to local areas to support local investment.
Increased use of blended finance and more innovative financial structures to attract private capital to impact investing.
An expanding list of different types of organisations engaging in impact investment e.g. pension funds and foundations.

There is immense potential for partnerships that can mobilise resources at scale to address pressing social, environmental, and economic challenges. Through blended finance structures and a focus on measurable outcomes, these collaborations can unlock capital that transforms lives across the UK and beyond.

Sarah Teacher & Bella Landymore, Executive Directors, Impact Investing Institute

Key findings of the report include:

The UK impact investing market has grown to £76.8 billion in assets under management (AUM) as of end-2023. This marks a £19.3 billion increase from the Institute’s inaugural report and represents a 10.1% compound annual growth rate from the beginning of 2021 until the end of 2023.
Impact investing growth has significantly outpaced that of the broader UK asset management sector, which had an annual growth rate between ‑2% and 0% over the same period. We estimate that impact investing now accounts for just under 1% of the whole UK investing market.
UK-based impact investors are supporting impactful companies, projects and assets in the UK (34%) and across the globe (66%). Two-thirds of survey respondents plan to increase or sustain their allocation of capital towards companies, projects, and assets in the UK in the next five years.