The CIC, now 1,000 strong, is a great idea. A vehicle for social entrepreneurs to attract investment for their ideas. Interestingly, you can pay dividends back to the investor (extremely limited) and you can issue shares that have the potential to create a secondary market. What you can’t do is help them realise an increase in the value of their investment. Why has the Regulator locked the asset more than the income? Would it not be reasonable to allow the investor to realise a modest appreciation of its investment in line with the same restrictions on income? Especially if this appreciation is property related?
We need to push this forward. Private investment is ready to commit, but needs just a bit more incentive to do so. The CIC could be the vehicle to do this……maybe someday.
Related posts:
anyone else out there noticed the CIC regulator has some further ‘unusual’ powers?
for example: as well as being able to change directors at will, the regulator can also impose restrictions on their trading activities and instigate civil proceedings against an individual or other organisation in the name of a CIC – and all without their, or their community’s, consent…
None of the CICs I’ve met to date knew about these powers that they’re subject to, nor that the asset lock is not unique to a CIC (and all having taking “expert advice”)
I’ve also been trying to have conversations with national support bodies to see how they’ve been able to rencile some of these powers and the rules of CICs to co-op and social enterprise values (in as much as they’re encouraging and supporing groups to register as CICs), but so far without success – would be grateful if anyone could broker an introduction?
for people still interested in this debate/discussion/etc, there’s now a 2-part podcast of an interview between myself and Dave Dawes (well known in social enterprose health circles, and founder of a CIC) available to download at:
http://www.entreprenurses.net/podcast/ – and choose podacsts 7 and 8 (but be warned that part 1 is not suitable for children…you’ll have to listen to find out why)
well, seems like Big Issue and a number of CICs are now joining the “disgruntled with CICs” ranks – [url]http://www.charityfinance.co.uk/home/content.php?id=1884&pg=15&cat=30[/url]
(nice of the bigger guys in the sector to catch up with my concerns with this legal model’s current form that I raised nearly 2 years ago now!)
and for those of you interested in seeing how my original concerns are now being acted on by the CIC regulator, please see – http://thirdsectorexpert.blogspot.com/2009/04/shortly-after-community-interest.html
Adrian Ashton