Professor Tony Chapman and Professor Peter Wells

Professor Tony Chapman, St Chad’s College and Professor Peter Wells, Sheffield Hallam University have been commissioned by Charity Bank and Northern Rock Foundation to undertake a study in Cumbria on the interest charities and social enterprises have in borrowing money.

The purpose of loans may include mortgages, investment in upgrading property, buying equipment, or for working capital.  Professor Chapman is undertaking a quantitative study in Cumbria which will produce comparable data for charities in North East England and Yorkshire.

Statistics will be produced on the size of the marketplace for loans in Cumbria for different purposes, and the characteristics of organisations which may be prepared to take loans.  Professor Wells will do interviews with key stakeholders across the county to find out what the incentives and barriers may be for borrowing money by charities.

The quantitative study report was published in January 2015 and is available to download: Assessment_willingness-Third_Sector

An academic article on this project, which drew on more recent data from Third Sector Trends has also been published:

Chapman, T. (2017) ‘The propensity of third sector organisations to borrow money in the UK’, Policy Studies, 38(2), 185-204.