The investment will enable the company, which develops employee-owned domiciliary care companies, to expand.

It will be made by Bridges Ventures’ Social Entrepreneurs Fund, which enables social enterprises to attract investment with returns linked to turnover and social impact, in the form of a social loan financial instrument.

Margaret Elliott, director of CASA, says, ‘With the backing of Bridges Ventures, CASA can now extend its model of care provision to a much wider audience.’

Executive director at Bridges Ventures, Antony Ross, adds, ‘We believe that the market for domiciliary care is one in which social enterprise can deliver considerable impact and this has already been demonstrated by CASA.’

He explains that this investment is its second to use the social loan facility to enable growth within a social enterprise that delivers public sector contracts.

The Bridges Social Entrepreneurs Fund was launched in 2009 to address the funding gap frequently faced by fast-growing social enterprises.

CASA aims to provide more rewarding roles for employees and better patient care. It has built four stand-alone companies, the first opening in North Tyneside in 2004. A fifth site is due to open shortly.

With other sites planned, the enterprise will utilise the funding to develop a platform for growth, it said in a statement.