Mainstream Impact Investment

Every day across the world we are facing new and ever more complex challenges; challenges that require us to deal with constantly shifting world markets whilst at the same time trying to grapple with the persistent threats posed by global warming, water scarcity and income disparity. And it feels more and more that the old economic certainties no longer have all the answers; they lack the right values, the scale of ambition needed to unlock long term, sustainable answers to these complex issues.

But in their place, new social and economic forces are now at work, creating innovative practices and a new way of doing business which will reduce the environmental impact of production and favour businesses that are well governed for the long term; businesses which are still ‘demand led’ but which are much less disruptive of communities and the environment.

And of course we’re aiming to create growth for our clients at competitive rates, but we want to achieve that growth by investing in business models that break the old link between economic growth and environmental destruction. Businesses that understand the negative consequences of their activities and then act to mitigate them will be more resilient over the long term; meaning they’re much more likely to do better in the short term too, and that means a better investment for our clients.

The majority of the challenges we face globally can be attributed to the negative impact of businesses operating in mainstream markets. 

These markets are dependent on the wider society and that wider society is, in turn, critically dependant on our global environment. So the greatest possible impact for positive change, the greatest scope for an effective and robust response to the challenges we face today will come through interventions in those mainstream markets.

That’s why we’re committed to Mainstream Impact Investment.

Supporting Young British Talent is an investment programme set up in 2014 where we identify young, talented persons and invest in them by setting up a new business in which they are given a significant stake. Besides the high risk capital that we invest in these young people, we also provide ongoing mentoring to train them in the various aspects of setting up and running a business and enable strategic alliances with companies within our network. The ultimate objective is to give young people a chance, which they otherwise will not get and develop these businesses to export their products and services overseas with the British label.

The first investment under this programme is Phillpotts Dowding Limited, where we have selected twin sisters Sophie and Natasha Phillpotts-Dowding as the young talent to support. Sophie does bespoke interior design and Natasha does bespoke fashion for men and women. The objective here is to develop a twin branding concept around the sisters and to develop a brand identity that offers cutting edge design. By combining interior design and fashion, Phillpotts Dowding is able to offer specialist services to the hospitality industry where the uniform and interior design are congruous and enables the hotel or restaurant or bar to enhance their client experience.

Phillpotts Dowding website