The Third Sector is a growing and vital area of business in Scotland today. For bto, the focus of our Third Sector team is on social enterprises and social firms, supported by our Charity, Corporate, Employment and Social Housing teams.
The team also works closely with Social Firms Scotland, the national support body for Social Firms in Scotland. bto is a core partner in the Acquiring Business for Good programme which works across Scotland to support the purchase of private businesses and their conversion into social or community enterprises. A Social Firm is a social enterprise that focuses on work integration, so their social purpose is to create employment opportunities and provide a supportive working environment for people who are severely disadvantaged in the labour market.
Social enterprises are businesses that trade for social and environmental purposes, operating in all markets. Social enterprises exist to make a profit, but instead of paying dividends to shareholders, any profits or surpluses made are reinvested into social and environmental purposes, for example, providing employment opportunities to the long term unemployed. Without making a profit, social enterprises cannot meet their community benefit objectives; so, to be sustainable they must trade.
Our Third Sector team draws on bto’s corporate and business acumen, as well as our experience of working in the Third Sector over a number of years, to address relevant issues for clients operating in this area. The team includes specialists in employment, corporate and governance issues, as well as contract issues and other matters of day-to-day concern to Third Sector organisations. Our multifaceted team collaborates to achieve commercial solutions for clients and if a solution cannot be found or agreed, bto’s litigators are experienced in seeking judicial remedies.
Contact
Alastair Dunn
Partner, Glasgow