Because we’re a great organisation to be associated with. We’re a smart and successful business, driven by social objectives.
- Encourage more people to take part in physical activity – by providing leisure facilities to encourage active communities and improve health and wellbeing.
- Attract bigger entertainment audiences – with a diverse range of cultural and artistic events that appeal to a wide variety of tastes.
- Deliver economic benefit – by hosting major conferences, exhibitions and events that benefit the local, regional and international economy.
BH Live is part of a growing, 70,000-strong social economic sector that includes The Big Issue, Eden Project, Divine Chocolate and Timewise. Together we contribute £18.5 billion to the national economy (2012 Small Business Survey, 2013) and employ almost a million people.
A social enterprise is a business that trades for a social and/or environmental purpose. It has a social mission to make a difference to the quality of people’s lives. It’s a corporate business, with a charitable product and ploughs back all its surplus revenues to fulfil its mission.
Unlike a charity, we do not rely on charity (donations, grants, etc) to do our work. And unlike an ethical business, we aren’t just trying to minimise our negative social or environmental impact. We’re actually here to market and sell social products – and to make a difference.
Customers, partners and audiences who choose BH Live get to play their part in building more connected, healthier and happier communities.
Our activity also supports thousands of jobs across multiple sectors.
We’re innovative
BH Live operates at the heart of an innovation hub, where academic and business organisations work together to bring new ideas to life as mainstream products and services. So it’s important to reflect these advantages in our venues and services.
We’re experts at staging spectacular, unforgettable shows, conferences and exhibitions, delivered with passion by our energetic, high-tech crews.
We know how to create energising leisure spaces, equipping our centres with state-of-the art sports, fitness and catering facilities and making them accessible to everyone.
We make the space for people can eat, drink, relax and socialise. Our Terrace cafés and bars are doing brisk business across many venues.
We’re independent
As an independent, charitable trust, grown from council roots, we have created a bedrock of experience that we can channel into doing more for the local community and economy. It’s enabled us to build the trust and confidence that’s essential to attract major brands and win the hearts and minds of customers and local residents. Our independence gives us the freedom to operate as a commercial business — to create, market and sell competitive, social products and services that generate revenues to enrich local communities. It’s this that makes us a major force for good and sets the standard in social enterprise that others aspire to. We’re raising the bar and intend to become and remain the regional and national leader in our field.