Henry Philipson

Social Finance is proud to be the research partner for the Impact Investing Institute's industry-defining report, The UK impact investing market: Size, scope and potential, which highlights the positive growth of the impact investing market in the UK. Key highlights from the report: 📈 The market has grown by £19.3 billion (representing a 10.1% compound annual growth rate) from the beginning of 2021 until the end of 2023. 🚀 Impact investing growth has significantly outpaced the broader UK asset management sector, which had an annual growth rate between -2% and 0% over the same period. 🌍 The UK impact investing market accounts for about 8% of the global impact investing market. The report was launched today at the Guildhall, City of London. The Social Finance team joined investors, researchers, and policymakers focused on achieving greater impact through investments. While growth is welcomed and appreciated, as David Blood, Chair of Social Finance UK, emphasised in his closing remarks, much more remains to be done, especially since we, as a society, are not on track to meet any of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Our Analyst, Ivjyot Singh Oberoi, one of the report's co-authors, alongside Sarah Baillie, Jonathan Flory, David Fletcher and the team at Impact Investing Institute, has written a blog highlighting some of the key report findings, linked in the comments section below. Sarah Teacher, David Krivanek, Hugh Stanley Bella Landymore #ImpactInvesting #SustainableFinance #UKFinance Adam Swersky Nadine Smith

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💱 Scotland’s fintech revolution has gathered pace and now employs well over 11,000 people after a further surge last year, new figures have revealed. There was an 8 per cent rise in the overall headcount within the FinTech Scotland “cluster” during 2024, according to the trade body for the financial technology - or fintech - sector. That year on year increase brings the total number of people working in fintech north of the Border to about 11,300. https://lnkd.in/eGwniUKX [Including comments from Nicola Anderson / Jane Martin / Jackie Leiper]

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Our new VCs Backing Sustainable UK Scale-Ups report is available to download 🎉 Get the full lowdown on the top investors backing ESG-driven startups and scale-ups – from industry mainstays like Balderton Capital and Octopus Ventures to relative newcomers like 2150 👇 #VentureCapital #Investment #Sustainable

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Upvest Secures £83M to Fuel UK Expansion and Hiring Drive Berlin-based fintech Upvest has raised €100M (£83M) in a Series C funding round led by Hedosophia. The investment will accelerate the company’s UK expansion, including hiring 50 additional staff for its London office. This milestone follows FCA approval in October, enabling Upvest to support UK fintechs, banks, and wealth managers with its investment API. The platform facilitates fractional investments in ETFs, stocks, and mutual funds, with plans to add derivatives, bonds, and more. Co-founder Martin Kassing said the funding will enhance their product suite, double their 170-strong team, and deepen partnerships with financial institutions. Key clients like Revolut, N26, and Raisin showcase Upvest’s leading position in European investment infrastructure, with over 1M trades processed weekly. #Fintech #InvestmentAPI #LondonExpansion #Innovation https://lnkd.in/dWCvtfkE

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2023 wasn’t a good year for early-stage deal count in UK tech. There were 2.7k pre-seed, seed and Series A deals — the lowest figure since 2016. The figures for 2024 aren’t looking much stronger — with 1.1k so far this year. But while VC investment might have dropped off broadly, a number of investors are still pumping money into British startups. We've selected the investors that did the most pre-seed, seed and Series A deals, both new and follow-on, in the UK in the past 12 months (the start of June 2023 to the end of May 2024). #venturecapital #VC

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🚀 New British Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (BVCA) report out today: Venture capital investment drives innovation, but more domestic fundraising is needed. The report highlights how #venturecapital fundraising has remained resilient, looks at national and regional investment across the UK, and sets out recommendations on the challenge of domestic fundraising. 📰 As covered in City AM this morning: https://lnkd.in/eeu-aiTi 📖 And read the report here: https://lnkd.in/e5hVj7J7

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“We want a new partnership with investors, businesses and charities. All the best examples of things that are built to last are when they have been built together,” says Lisa Nandy, Secretary of State for Department for Culture, Media and Sport in the foreword to the latest market sizing report from the Impact Investing Institute.   It is great to see charities​ and philanthropy referenced in the report.   As Lisa Nandy’s quote suggests, we cannot achieve the full potential for positive, sustainable change in our communities and the wider world without the effective deployment of capital across the full spectrum of capital.   Responsible business, ESG, impact investing, social investing and philanthropy all play different and important roles in driving positive change for people and planet. The more these different approaches are understood and supported to thrive, the better able we will be to build a sustainable future together.   This is the Impact Investing Institute's second report on the UK’s impact investment market showing £77 billion in total and a striking 10% ​annual growth rate.   The report is available at: https://lnkd.in/eT8Uy8eA

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📰 News Alert: UK's National Wealth Fund Launched to Boost Green Growth The UK government has rebranded and expanded the UK Infrastructure Bank (UKIB) into the National Wealth Fund (NWF), signalling a major push for green growth and infrastructure investment. Key points: • 💰 £27.8 billion total capitalisation • 🎯 Focus: clean energy, transport, digital, water, and waste • 🌱 Aims to tackle climate change and boost regional growth • 🤝 Partners with private sector and local government • 🏙️ HQ in Leeds, expanding team and expertise The NWF will target sectors crucial for the UK's clean energy and growth ambitions, including green hydrogen, carbon capture, ports, gigafactories, and green steel. With a 1:3 target mobilisation ratio, the NWF could unlock over £70 billion in private investment, driving the UK's green industrial revolution. 🔗 Learn more: https://www.ukib.org.uk/ #NationalWealthFund #GreenGrowth #UKInfrastructure #CleanEnergy #Aberdeen 🔁 Repost to share with your networks.

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In a thought piece for CFA UK, Main Set Founder and Managing Partner Ioto Iotov explores diversity (or the lack thereof) in the VC Industry. He draws on the research from Sophie Calder-Wang and Paul Gompers at Harvard Business School, Diversity VC, Elizabeth Edwards, Jonathan Hollis from Mountside Ventures, Stonewall and the British Business Bank. Find the link to the report in the comments. #investing #CFA #diversity #responsibleinvesting

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When doing a deal, whether that involves early-stage fundraising or an exit, it is vital to get holistic advice that focuses on more than just the headline price, according to Adam Maitland of Hutcheon Mearns. In The Scotsman, Adam says: “We saw a gap in the market for providing a more tailored, flexible, and value driven approach to deals, rather than just selling or buying someone’s business.” Read more here: https://lnkd.in/eeTWje7x #AD

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What is impact investing? Our guide, published by Bond UK, explains the different types of impact investing and how INGOs can play a part in the impact investment market – by being investors, accessing investment themselves or acting as market facilitators. Read it here - https://lnkd.in/e9Ut-_dd

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'We need to spread action on #deforestation across the entire finance sector and stay focused on it." Niki Mardas, our Executive Director, breaks down the significance of London Climate Action Week & announces DEFT Pathway, which will help financial institutions to better engage with portfolio companies 💼 DEFT Pathway, launching in beta later this year, aims to drive aligned engagement from the finance sector on companies, in order to shift deforestation out of their supply chains. It is also a pathway for better integration with #climate and #nature transition frameworks 🌳 #LCAW2024 Nature4Climate Find out more: deftpathway.org

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💸 With #QVCS, Maddyness UK profiles different #funds to give #founders and #entrepreneurs the information they need to choose the right #investor. Today, we speak to Dave Grimm, Partner at AlbionVC and UCL Technology Fund. "My #focus is on early-stage deeptech across the #physicalsciences and #engineering faculty at UCL. The areas I think are most interesting are #future of #compute, novel #AI and the #energytransition." "I’m looking for founders who understand that and are already falling in love with the #problem (not just obsessed with the #perfection of their #solution)." https://lnkd.in/evcdzfQH

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[Partner post] “Many social venture leaders are looking for ways to raise funds to scale but are faced with a multitude of options, and often barriers. For many, social investment might be the best option not yet explored.” In this blog, Good Finance UK and School for Social Entrepreneurs outline five key things you need to know before exploring social investment as part of the future financing of your organisation. Read now👇 https://buff.ly/3WRfzOI

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#SMEs are thinking more strategically as they plan for business growth as new sources of #funding are increasingly available. Read our guide on funding & investing for financial directors here: https://lnkd.in/eBe7PCQ7 #Business #Finance #Thrive

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📌 Interesting reading: The Impact Investing Institute has released a new report on the size of the UK impact investing market “As challenges like climate change and social inequality intensify, the role of finance in shaping our collective future has never been more critical. The UK impact investing market represents an important pool of capital that can help address these challenges.” 📖 Read more: https://lnkd.in/emakwfJK

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