# Big Issue Invest

Big Issue Invest is a Private Equity based in London, United Kingdom.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Private Equity
- **Headquarters:** London, United Kingdom
- **Region:** Europe
- **Address:** London, United Kingdom
- **Founded:** 2005
- **Assets under management:** Undisclosed
- **Website:** www.bigissueinvest.com
- **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/big-issue-invest

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

Big Issue Invest invests in social enterprises and charities, creating core solutions to end poverty and inequality in the UK. Founded by impact entrepreneurs John Bird and Nigel Kershaw from the Big Issue Group, it is one of the leaders in social impact investing. Since 2005 it has invested over £100 million in hundreds of social impact organisations sharing the mission to dismantle poverty and inequality through social business solutions.

## Sectors

- Social Impact
- Enterprise Software
- Digital Health
- FinTech
- Media & Entertainment
- FoodTech

## People

- Danyal Sattar — Chief Executive Officer
- John Bird — Founder, The Big Issue
- Nigel Kershaw — Chair

## Questions

### Who runs investment decisions at Big Issue Invest?

Danyal Sattar leads the team as CEO, a role he has held for more than a decade. He previously worked at Barclays and has served on the UK government's Social Investment Taskforce. Investment committee decisions draw on a mix of internal impact specialists and external advisors with commercial and social-sector experience.

### How is Big Issue Invest related to The Big Issue magazine?

Big Issue Invest is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Big Issue Group, the parent organization of the street newspaper. The invest unit shares the parent's mission to dismantle poverty, but operates with a separate balance sheet and FCA-regulated governance. Profits from investments can be recycled into further mission-aligned deals rather than distributed to external shareholders.

### What investment structures does Big Issue Invest use?

The firm offers unsecured loans, recoverable grants, and equity investments. It manages multiple impact-driven funds, including an Outcomes Investment Fund for social-impact bonds and a Growth Impact Fund for equity investments in diverse-led social enterprises. Typical initial ticket sizes range from £20,000 to £3 million.

### Which sectors does Big Issue Invest explicitly avoid?

The firm excludes enterprises whose activities cause social harm, including those reliant on exploitative labor practices, arms, fossil fuels, tobacco, or high-interest consumer lending. Its impact screen is designed to block investments that contradict The Big Issue's mission to create opportunity for marginalized communities.

### How does Big Issue Invest source its pipeline?

Deal flow comes through social-enterprise networks, partnerships with other impact investors such as UnLtd and Shift, and referrals from local authorities and community foundations. The affiliation with The Big Issue vendor network provides proprietary insight into community-level challenges and emerging enterprise models.

### Has Big Issue Invest made any notable recent investments?

In October 2023, it co-invested in a £3 million equity round for Beam, a digital platform that crowdfunds employment training and support for homeless individuals (per UK Tech News, October 2023). The deal reflected its focus on tech-enabled social enterprises that address economic exclusion.

## Related profiles

- [Big Investment Services](https://altss.com/profile/big-investment-services)
- [BIG Labs](https://altss.com/profile/big-labs)

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Updated: 2026-08-11T15:06:13.093Z

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