Impact Investing - Thera

Thera, a charity that supports adults with a learning disability at home and in the community, approached Investing for Good with ambitious plans to raise impact investment capital. Thera was looking to fund new projects that will reach a greater number of individuals with a learning disability and transform their lives. Investing for Good provided a range of professional support around strategy, business planning and the financial model, advice on content to be included in an information memorandum and terms that it had tested with its investors before arranging a social bond.

In 2015 Thera issued a 3 year, £1m bond under a £6m programme, offering a fixed 3.5% return to social investors. The social bond was listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange and structured by Investing for Good’s partner Linklaters. Investing for Good distributed the bond to investors including ethical funds, socially motivated individuals, wealth managers and foundations. We write and circulate an annual independent impact report to these groups.

Thera has benefited from the bond finance, supporting 120 additional beneficiaries this year and working in six new local authority areas. Asset manager Cheyne Capital has established an agreement with Thera to purchase up to £15m of property to enhance Thera’s delivery of care; the work conducted on the bond was instrumental in leveraging in this level of additional financial support. Investing for Good also helped Thera to strengthen its impact framework making it straightforward for the charity to keep track of their impact and regularly report it to external stakeholders.