Traders expressed concerns that the Vilette Road block, on the main bus route to the city centre, would prevent the street from thriving. They worried it was deterring people from getting off the bus and visiting. Back on the Map saw the opportunity to create “a quality retail offer, outside of what was currently available.” They applied for the Community Ownership Fund (COF) to purchase the building, and were awarded a grant of £168,000.

Back on the Map are working with the community to identify which types of businesses will complement those already on the road – which include a haberdasher, a butcher, a baker, cafes, and a local independent supermarket. The charity wants to attract businesses that will help the area thrive.

“We’ve had a lot of extremely positive feedback. We’ve been really open with the community… We’ve been very clear that if we don’t get grant intervention, it doesn’t stack up. We have limited charitable resources to do repairs at the scale we might want to… But the community was really pleased that Back on the Map would own [the building] because they knew we’d do the right thing with it as and when we could.”

Back on the Map have heard from residents keen to visit the new shops, even at this early stage. The charity has already received numerous expressions of interest from businesses excited to expand or start up on Villette Road. They hope that by the end of the financial year, the refurbishment will be complete and shops will begin to open, to meet the needs of the community.

For the match funding portion of COF, Back on the Map received board approval to invest some of their own capital renewal funds into the block. They then sought to match this funding with a social investment loan, and eventually took on a seven-year repayable grant from RANK Foundation, at 0% interest.

Jo says that social finance “hasn’t always worked for us, and I do think some models are better than others, particularly when there is a grant attached to alleviate some of the interest. When we have been able to [take on social investment], it’s enabled us to further our mission.”

Jo’s advice for other organisations seeking to use social finance to invest in community assets? “Just reach out to anybody and everybody. Try to get support for the project. Don’t just talk to one lender, talk to everyone, because they will have different rates, offers and ways to help. Put the word out. Don’t be shy – shy bairns get nowt!”

The best option for you may not be the best interest rate – you may find a social investor who is very aligned with your core values; an investor offering a longer term; or an investor who can reduce the amount of risk. Eventually, you’ll find the right person for your project, Jo says.

Back on the Map applied to the Community Ownership Fund before the support programme was put in place, but received advice on their application from Debbie Lamb, Development Manager at Locality. Debbie acted as a sounding board, reading through Back on the Map’s business plan and giving advice as a “critical friend”. This was funded by Power to Change through the Community Improvement District programme.

Back on the Map found that they already had much of the information needed for their COF application easily available.