Oversight Trust Annual Report: stewardship of Dormant Assets delivers social impact
The Oversight Trust has provided effective independent oversight of the four Operating Companies (OpCos) - Better Society Capital, Access – the Foundation for Social Investment, Fair4All Finance and Youth Futures Foundation - funded through dormant assets according to its latest annual report.
Through quarterly reviews, annual deep dives, formal governance reviews and independent four-yearly reviews, the Trust has continued to ensure that each OpCo remains true to its objects, delivers impact, is well governed, reports transparently, and deploys dormant assets for public benefit.
Collectively, the OpCos have shown the distinctive value of dormant assets as patient social capital. The UK social impact investment market is estimated to have grown to £11.2bn, vs £5.1bn five years ago - delivering on BSC’s 2021-25 strategic aspiration.
· By the end of 2025, Better Society Capital had received £434 million of equity capital from the Trust and had signed cumulative impact investments of £1.041 billion.
· Access has now unlocked £195 million for more than 3,600 charities and social enterprises over the last ten years.
· Fair4All Finance achieved 41% year on year growth in affordable credit responsibly lent to people in financially vulnerable circumstances by its Affordable Credit Scale Up Programme investees and played a significant role in the development of the UK’s National Financial Inclusion Strategy.
· Youth Futures Foundation had been allocated £125 million to improve employment outcomes for marginalised young people and continued to influence national policy and practice through evidence-led programmes.
In 2025, the wider group reported total income of £73.4 million, including £42.6 million from grants and £30.4 million from investment returns, while grants totalling £27.3 million and net investments of £9.2 million were made during the year. These figures reflect the continued scale of activity across social investment, financial inclusion, youth employment and support for charities and social enterprises.
Commenting on the report Vaughan Lindsay, Chair of The Oversight Trust, says:
“Dormant assets are a powerful resource for the common good when they are governed well, deployed carefully and focused on long-term social impact.
“The Trust’s role is to provide confidence that the Operating Companies are well governed, remain aligned with their missions and are using this funding to address some of the UK’s most pressing social challenges. This year’s report demonstrates the strength of that model and the combined impact being delivered across the group.
“As future funds become available we note the particular relevance of Youth Futures’ work to the findings of the Milburn Review, and Access’s immediate readiness to deploy additional funding into the very high level of demand it is experiencing.”
Read the full report here:
