The Big Issue is the UK's most well known social business. Launched in 1991, the magazine is bought wholesale by homeless people who want to trade their way out of poverty by selling it, for a profit, on the street. Since then, it has grown rapidly and today has an audited circulation of around 160,000 and a readership of around 1 million in the UK.

The Big Issue's philosophy has always been to tackle social issues by adopting business-like responses - giving 'a hand up, not a hand out'.

It is now expanding its remit to look at the causes as well as the symptoms of homelessness: the broader structural elements of society that lead to financial and social exclusion.

Access to credit and integration with the formal financial sector are two factors affecting many individuals that The Big Issue aims to address through its operations and the development of Big Issue Invest.

The involvement of The Big Issue gives Big Issue Invest the backing of a highly visible and popular brand and access to a wide ranging network of social enterprises.