THE University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) has today unveiled that it has beaten the national average for helping start-up social enterprises get off the ground.

Figures released from UCLan’s Knowledge Transfer department has shown that 11 per cent of UCLan graduate start-up businesses are ‘social enterprises’, six per cent higher than the national average.

A social enterprise is defined by the Government as businesses with primarily social objectives whose surpluses are principally reinvested for that purpose in the business or in the community, rather than being driven by the need to maximise profit for shareholders and owners.

In 2005, the Annual Survey of Small Businesses UK found that there are 55,000 social enterprises in the UK with a combined turnover of £27 billion contributing approximately £8.4 billion to the UK’s economy.

The news comes ahead of the Association for University Research and Industry Links’ (AURIL), national conference in Bristol on Thursday (October 8-9), where universities will present and debate the importance of knowledge transfer and its impact within the region.

Bede Mullen, UCLan’s director of knowledge transfer commented:

“The figure shows that UCLan is actively supporting the social enterprise sector by encouraging its development through its graduate start-ups and entrepreneurial activity. UCLan is having a direct impact on social development and regeneration within the region.

“We have some fantastic social enterprises that are contributing greatly to the social and economic regeneration of not just Preston or Lancashire, but the North West.”

Some examples of social enterprise success at UCLan include:
 Blackpool Fringe Project is building a network for creative artists from across the Northwest. The company invites actors, dancers, musicians, writers, artists, photographers, comedians, graphic designers, graffiti artists, singers and anyone who has an artistic flair to join the team to help improve Blackpool’s arts scene.

 Sign Circle organises events where deaf and hard-of-hearing people can socialise and join in with activities such as drama, sign-singing, archery, clay modelling and more recently, music festivals. Its main aim is to bring the deaf and hearing communities together.

 KW Digital creates artwork for a variety of materials such as carpets, curtains, greeting cards, web development and clothing. The company’s main objective is to license its artwork to other businesses to use it in their own activities.


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For further information contact: Sarah Warren (SWarren@uclan.ac.uk or 01772 895 377) or Caroline Johnson (CJJohnson@uclan.ac.uk or 01772 895 951) Knowledge Transfer Service, University of Central Lancashire.

Notes to Editors:

The University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) has developed an enviable reputation as an institution that innovates, evolving its course portfolio to over 500 undergraduate programmes and 180 postgraduate courses. The University has an established research reputation within the areas of Business, Health, Humanities and Science. In the recent Research Assessment Exercise, all 17 subject areas submitted were rated as containing research of international excellence while 11 areas were assessed to be undertaking research which is world-leading. With approximately 32,000 students, the University indirectly contributes close to £250 million into the regional economy every year. UCLan is currently in the process of spending more than £120 million on new buildings and facilities to support teaching, learning and leisure activities.