Bio of speaker: 

Phil Horrell is a UK career civil servant who has also worked in the private sector. He is currently the director of a charity in Scotland.  Phil also works closely with the Prince’s Trust, a charity designed to help disadvantaged youngsters make that first step into employment. He has held policy roles in a number of government departments but has primarily worked in Trade and Industry specialising in  Business Start-Ups, Regional Aid and Inward Investment. Phil joined the Office of the Regulator of Community Interest Companies, UK in June 2005, one month before it formally opened for applications; he took early retirement in October 2016.  

Phil worked under three Regulators during his term at the Office and as the Deputy Regulator was responsible for registering and regulating over 13,000 CICs. The Regulator’s remit was to facilitate growth and maintain confidence in the CIC brand and this was achieved during Phil’s stewardship. An evolving model which is continually under review, he led on the legislative changes to the dividend cap which had previously restricted shareholder reward and equity investment.

Phil remains a passionate supporter of community interest companies and continues to raise awareness of the model.  Since retirement he has worked with a number of CICs and universities in the UK and is in the process of setting up his company, PH Consultancy with the tagline ”Doing it for CICs”, which sums up his philosophy on life. Phil has a unique understanding of the CIC model and is delighted to be able to share his experiences of the obstacles, success and challenges of a legal form that has changed the social enterprise landscape in the UK.