Mark Heskett Saddington SES Director

Mark has over 30 years extensive knowledge and experience of researching business and economic development issues and opportunities whilst identifying, implementing and managing effective business programmes to address issues of economic inequality. For the last 10 years Mark has been a Director of SES a social enterprise company that has grown to a £1.4m turnover business employing 28 staff. Mark works across the UK as a social economy advisor, specialising in business planning, project management, training, and research and strategic planning. This has included being involved in government policy development, planning and managing multi-million pound projects, helping establish some of the most successful social enterprises with the North of England.

Recent key achievements include:

• Driving the business development of SES to ensure the suitability and growth of a £1.4m social enterprise.
• Designing and managing enterprise programmes that create on average 280 new business starts per year from the most deprived estates within Tyne & Wear.
• Designing and implementing social accounting and/or social return on investment methodologies for the last ten years.
• Designing and social enterprise programmes that support145 Tyne & Wear based social enterprise that have a combined yearly turnover of £23.4m whilst employing 1,400 local people.
• Designing and managing a £1.1m Working Neighbourhood enterprise package
• Managing and growing SES assets to £1.7m (2010).

Mark delivers well received workshops and seminars on financial modelling, social enterprise business planning, investment and social accounting. These events are based on his substantial fundraising experience which has involved designing and implementing financial models for a range of social enterprises.

Key Skills

Social Enterprise Business Planning
Mark has prepared the business plans and raised the finance for a number of well known, successful and established social enterprises and support organisations including:

• Development partner, business planning and securing £1.9m finance for The Container City –brand new Health and Care office and incubation space in Sunderland.
• Design and implementation of a £2.4m business case and investment package to create a social enterprise Workshop and Marina within Seaham North Docks
• Business Planning for Wearside First Credit Union, securing over £1.2m of investment.
• Attracting and securing £1.1m investment to social enterprises who are seeking business opportunities within health and care markets via DH Social Enterprise Investment Fund.

Recent research include, Live or Work Credit Union: Wearside First, Women’s business
and economic resilience, BME business and economic resilience, Registered Social Landlords and Enterprise Creation, designing and implementing Social Accounting and Social Return on Investment methodologies, financial exclusion, personalisation agenda, User Led Orgainsations and associated procurement frameworks.

Mark has a number of National, Regional Sub-Regional roles, for instance, founding member of North East Social Enterprise Partnership, Social Enterprise North East, Board Member of Sunderland Economic Master Plan, Director of CBS Ltd (Community Business Scotland) and until last year a National Director of Social Enterprise Coalition. Mark has an Honours Degree in Politics & Economics and Post-graduate qualifications in change management; Mark has substantial experience of designing and implementing Social Auditing and Social Return on Investment methodologies