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Amey Hays Social Enterprise Accelerator: Cohort 2

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The Amey Hays Social Enterprise Accelerator was created to unlock social value by connecting corporates with innovative social enterprises. Its purpose is simple yet powerful: to help small businesses overcome barriers to growth and integrate into large supply chains, driving both environmental and social impact.

At a glance

  • Amey and Hays invested £50,000 across two social enterprises through the Accelerator.
  • The programme generated £132,095 in total accredited social value.
  • More than 130 hours of skills-based volunteering and subject matter expertise were delivered.
  • Each enterprise received strategic support in CRM development, bid design, and supply chain readiness.
  • Independent evaluation by Social Enterprise UK confirmed the programme’s impact.

Key metrics

  • £132,095

    accredited social value delivered

  • £50,000

    grand funding provided

  • 77.5

    hours of subject matter expertise delivered

Cohort 2 built on the success of the programme's inaugural year, delivering £132,095 in social value through a combination of grant funding, skills-based volunteering, and operational guidance. Two social enterprises, Amplify Goods and Circular11, received tailored expertise and £25,000 grants each, empowering them to scale, innovate, and explore procurement opportunities with Amey and Hays.

The challenge: breaking barriers for social enterprises

Amey and Hays set out to address a critical gap in the relationship between large corporates and social enterprises: the difficulty small, impact-driven businesses face in accessing procurement opportunities and scaling sustainably. Social enterprises often operate with limited resources, making it challenging to respond to complex tender processes, invest in operational improvements, or build the confidence and knowledge required to integrate into major supply chains.

The aim of the Amey Hays Social Enterprise Accelerator was to therefore overcome these barriers by providing catalytic funding and tailored expertise. The challenge was twofold: first, to strengthen the operational capacity and strategic clarity of participating enterprises; and second, to create a pathway for genuine procurement integration that aligns with ESG commitments and the UK Social Value Model.

Cohort 2 focused on Amplify Goods and Circular11, two innovative social enterprises tackling environmental and social issues through circular economy solutions. Both faced resource constraints and needed support to scale production, refine processes, and engage effectively with corporate buyers.

By combining grant funding with skills-based volunteering and subject matter expertise, the programme aimed to support these challenges, enabling partners to grow, innovate, and deliver measurable social and environmental impact.

Our approach: combining funding with expertise

Amey and Hays designed the Social Enterprise Accelerator as a 12-month programme combining financial investment with tailored, skills-based support. The approach was highly structured yet flexible , ensuring that each social enterprise received bespoke guidance aligned to its growth priorities and operational challenges.

The programme began with a rigorous selection process, identifying Amplify Goods and Circular11 as partners whose missions aligned with ESG goals and responsible procurement standards. Once onboarded, both enterprises benefited from a blend of grant funding, £25,000 each, and targeted expertise across critical business areas, including CRM development, bid process design, recruitment consultation, and supply chain readiness. This mix of funding and hands‑on support reflects how Amey and Hays use their supplier–customer relationship to reinvest contract‑linked social value into purposeful activity, helping social enterprises build capability and confidence.

Amey and Hays mobilised internal talent to deliver 53 hours of mentoring and 77.5 hours of subject matter expertise, equating to £16,526 in accredited social value. This skills-based volunteering model provided practical solutions, from improving sales strategies and operational processes to supporting product launches like Amplify Goods’ SUDZERØ handwash. Independent evaluation and impact measurement were embedded throughout, using the Thrive platform and SEUK’s pre/post engagement surveys to ensure transparency and accountability. This combination of structured support and commercial insight demonstrates how both organisations are embedding responsible procurement principles into the wider supply chain, helping social enterprises become contract‑ready and strengthening the long‑term sustainability of the Amey–Hays partnership.

By combining catalytic funding with knowledge sharing and corporate networks, Amey’s approach was innovative, collaborative, and impact-driven, helping social enterprises overcome resource constraints and move closer to integration within large supply chains. This is a deliberate “profit into purpose” approach, using the social value fund linked to the contract to generate measurable impact, while also creating real routes into Amey’s supply chain through existing arrangements such as the Bunzl cleaning consumables contract.

Representatives from Amey and Hays joined Amplify Goods, Circular11 and programme volunteers for a celebration event.

The outcome: measurable impact for social enterprises

Cohort 2 of the Amey Hays Social Enterprise Accelerator delivered tangible, measurable impact for both participating social enterprises and the wider community. The programme generated £132,095 in total social value, combining grant funding, skills-based volunteering, and operational improvements.

Amplify Goods used its £25,000 grant to recruit a new team member, enabling founders to focus on strategic growth and launch SUDZERØ, a refill-first handwash that reduces single-use plastics and achieves an 87% reduction in carbon footprint compared to traditional products. This innovation supports Amey’s ESG commitments and offers a sustainable alternative for workplace hygiene.

Circular11 experienced rapid scaling during the programme, quadrupling factory output and increasing average order size from £4,000 to £1,000,000, positioning the business for long-term growth and customer readiness. Both enterprises reported improved clarity of strategy, enhanced operational processes, and stronger confidence in engaging with corporate buyers.

Beyond financial and operational gains, the Accelerator strengthened networks and laid the groundwork for procurement integration. Amplify Goods’ products are listed with Bunzl Cleaning and Hygiene Supplies, creating a pathway into Amey’s supply chain. Independent evaluation by Social Enterprise UK confirmed significant improvements in knowledge, confidence, and skills, setting a benchmark for corporate-social enterprise collaboration.

A further outcome was the positive effect on Amey and Hays colleagues who contributed their time and expertise. Skills-based volunteers reported a strong sense of purpose, pride, and personal fulfilment from supporting early-stage organisations, reinforcing employee value proposition themes around meaningful work, community contribution, and professional growth. This human impact formed an additional strand of social value, complementing the programme’s core objective of accelerating social enterprise readiness and impact.

Commenting on the success of the partnership, Emily Davies, ESG Director, said: “Our Social Value goal is all about how we can enhance the wellbeing of the people and the communities we impact through what we do every single day. At Amey we recognise the power of procurement, so our whole concept was thinking about how we can accelerate organisations that echo our values and support them to grow, develop and ultimately to supply to our organisations.”

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