BUSINESS BIO

Where is the enterprise based? Medway, Kent

Key business markets: Community health, well-being and prosperity

Annual turnover: £1.25 million

% of turnover which is trading income (as opposed to grants): 87%

Number of employees: 61

www.sunlighttrust.org.uk

ambassadors

Peter Holbrook

Peter Holbrook
  • Social Enterprise Coalition - formerly Sunlight

  • Chief executive

  • London

Peter Holbrook has now moved on from Sunlight to take up the role of chief executive at the Social Enterprise Coalition. Although he is no longer formally part of the Ambassadors Programme, he continues to be an ambassador for social enterprise every day! We have kept his profile and contributions on the site as we believe they are still valuable content for those wishing to learn about social enterprise. To find out more about Peter's new role, visit the Social Enterprise Coalition website here.

Sunlight Development Trust and Sunlight Social Enterprises, formerly led by Peter Holbrook, use community development and enterprise to tackle long-standing health and social inequalities; working in partnership with local agencies, local businesses and most importantly people and their communities.

Sunlight is comprised of such a variety of enterprises and projects that it resists easy categorisation. It aims to serve the whole of its local community, improving health and wellbeing, and providing a range of social, medical and community services.

Its chief executive, Peter Holbrook, was involved right from the start. “The organisation started when a group of people got together, wanting to create change here in Medway. What is now our base, Sunlight, was a derelict old building, and with support from the Big Lottery Fund we refurbished it and turned it into a community hub.”

Sunlight is truly a community hub, housing voluntary organisations, a medical centre, a family centre, pharmacy, café, community radio station, recording studio and rehearsal rooms, and flexible meeting rooms. Over one hundred groups regularly use space in the building, ranging from music and arts groups to support services for people with mental health issues or those affected by cancer.

87 per cent of Sunlight’s income comes from trading. Like its services, the enterprise element is diverse, including catering, design and publishing, training, and a recording studio. These services trade under Sunlight Social Enterprises CIC, and income is reinvested to serve the community.

One of the Trust's most successful enterprises is café sunlight, which expanded in 2007 with three additional cafés in the Medway area.

People can learn from the experience of the team behind Sunlight Development Trust. They have set the standard, and are a vital resource.

In 2008, in open commercial tender, café sunlight was awarded a three year contract to deliver a café in the headquarters of Medway Council; this extends to all corporate events and civic functions.

Sunlight is becoming increasingly successful in showing how it can give added value to tenders for local authority service contracts. Its recent Social Impact Report shows the trust is contributing to 28 of Medway council’s 35 local area agreement targets.

For Peter, the secret to the organisation’s success is in building relationships and linking different goals.

“This is a fairly deprived area,” says Peter. “We’ve managed to create so many training opportunities, and the enterprises in turn also allow us to invest in projects ranging from homework clubs to baton twirling. Supporting young people’s development raises self esteem and provides long-term gains for the community.”

The ripple effect goes even further though. “Working with young people reduces fear of crime, and fear of young people in the older generation. And bringing fresh fruit and vegetables through our cafés improves health, but also benefits local farmers, and the environment because we don’t use so much packaging. It all links up.”

Sunlight Development Trust was the winner of the 2004 Community Regeneration Awards (BURA), was given special recognition by the former Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in 2005 and was highly commended by the Centre for Social Justice in 2007.

In 2008 Sunlight Social Enterprises was awarded Best New Social Enterprise at the Enterprising Solutions Awards.

“People can learn from the experience of the team behind Sunlight Development Trust,” said the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government in 2008, “They have set the standard, and are a vital resource.”

For Peter, partnership working will continue to be the way forward.

“We have a good relationship with the council, the police, schools and universities,” he says. “All of us recognise that the way to achieve common aims is to work together.”

Quick Facts

  • More than 80 per cent of Sunlight\'s staff are local people who began working for the organisation as volunteers.
  • Since starting in 2003, 1,653 community members have participated in training and more than 30 new employment places have been created.
  • Over one hundred local groups use Sunlight facilities to deliver projects and services.

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