What we do

The Together Social Business Group is the holding company for our current projects in Bristol and the West Midlands. We create full-time jobs for ex-offenders by bringing empty properties back into use. We are now working on bigger projects, such as conversions of empty office blocks into flats for social housing, and new-build housing using timber-frame construction. All of this helps equip our employees with the skills and experience they will need to move on to other areas of employment, or even self-employment.

The Together Group is a new organisation, but we have created jobs for over 70 ex-offenders, and so far only one has re-offended. We expect this low level to continue as we grow, because we are convinced of the tremendous value of work as a means to reduce re-offending. Our employees get not only a job and a salary, but ‘in-work’ support and training; help to improve their personal financial situation, their housing and relationships, as well as mentoring support to help them deal with the transition into work, and with working as part of a team.

Our plan over the next few years is to expand the number of cities and regions of the UK - and as such we are always interested to hear from social enterprises, housing associations, Probation services and Local Authorities that might want to partner with us.

To date our approach has been to issue bonds - where the capital raised finances the purchase and renovation of empty properties with all the profits reinvested back into the project. We pay interest on a quarterly basis, and for some individual investors there is tax relief available.