Evidence of five years of impact celebrated in LAIN’s latest report
Billions invested in London’s small and diverse businesses, thousands of apprenticeships created and hundreds of thousands of tonnes of carbon emissions saved are among the achievements highlighted in the London Anchor Institutions’ Network’s (LAIN) latest Impact Report.
The report celebrates five years of collective action by London’s anchor institutions to create a fairer, greener and more prosperous city, showcasing both the network’s achievements over the past year (2025–26) and its cumulative impact since launching five years ago.
Over that period, LAIN has grown to become one of the world’s largest anchor institution networks, bringing together organisations committed to using their purchasing power, their estates and how they manage their workforce to benefit Londoners and their communities.
By changing the way they recruit and support their staff, buy goods and services, and manage their facilities, LAIN members are creating more jobs with fairer pay and conditions, driving inclusive economic growth while accelerating progress towards London’s environmental goals.
Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan said:
“I’m proud of the progress the London Anchor Institutions’ Network has made by bringing some of our city’s biggest organisations together to improve the lives of Londoners.
“By working in partnership, we can use our collective resources and influence to create good jobs, tackle inequality and support communities across the capital, helping to build a greener, fairer and more prosperous London for everyone.”
The report highlights that over the past five years, LAIN members have:
Spent £4.21 billion with small and diverse businesses.
Created more than 12,000 apprenticeship opportunities and 800 supported internships.
Reduced carbon emissions by 386,000 tonnes.
Among the network’s achievements during 2025–26 were the launch of the Curious about Climate e-learning programme, designed to help staff embed environmental sustainability into everyday decision-making, and the onboarding of the first cohort of businesses onto a new supply chain mentoring programme to help small and medium-sized enterprises secure more contracts with anchor institutions.
LAIN also appointed the Early Years Alliance to match Growth and Skills Levy donated by anchor institutions with early years providers, to create more apprenticeships across the sector.
Lizzie Smith, Co-chair of LAIN and Director of Workforce, Training and Education for NHS England – London region, said the report marked an important milestone but emphasised there was more work ahead.
“While we are proud to have marked five years of anchor ways of working and impact in this report, we know we have so much more to do. The ambition across our membership continues to grow and so does the opportunity to deepen our collective impact,” she said.
The report concludes that as the network’s membership continues to grow, LAIN is well placed to build on five years of progress and further strengthen its collective contribution to tackling inequality, supporting local businesses and helping London achieve its environmental ambitions.
Liz Hutchinson, CEO of London Higher and also Co-Chair of LAIN reflected:
"LAIN's members represent sectors that touch every aspect of Londoners' lives - from universities and colleges to the public sector, cultural and faith organisations - as anchor institutions we're uniquely positioned to lead this work because together our size, our long-standing roots and our influence can help local communities to thrive."