Impact investment portfolio

Our impact investments to date

Creating affordable housing for those at risk of homelessness

• Resonance Women In Safe Homes fund, £3 million investment  
• Resonance Everyone In fund, £2 million investment  
• Real Lettings Property Fund 2 (RLPF 2), £5 million investment  

We have invested a collective £10 million across three targeted property funds through one of the UK’s largest social impact investment companies, Resonance. Resonance works with social enterprises and charities to create and manage award-winning impact investment funds that aim to deliver a financial return and a targeted social impact. These property investments will help to deliver longer term health impact by scaling up solutions to housing issues for those most at risk of homelessness, particularly vulnerable women and rough sleepers. Resonance’s unique approach in managing the funds is in partnering with charitable organisations meaning individuals have access to safe, stable housing, together with specialist support services.  

Over the lifetime of the funds, the aim is to make over 1,000 safe and affordable homes available to over 7,500 people across the funds’ lifetime, as well as achieve a financial return.   

Value-oriented real estate investors Patron Capital, social landlord Nacro, and Real Lettings, a lettings agency run by homelessness charity St Mungo’s, are also partners in the different funds.  

Investing in life sciences start-ups

• SV7 Impact Medicine Fund, $3 million investment
• Medicixi II, €3 million investment

We back two funds dedicated to investing in start-ups in the life sciences sector. First, the SV7 Impact Medicine Fund. This is a biotech-focused venture capital fund of SV Health Investors, which invests in companies exploring new drug discoveries and development. They have made most of their investments into UK start-ups looking to deliver life-changing therapies by targeting precision medicine drugs for unmet clinical need. 60% of their investment will be targeted into companies focused on oncology.

Second, we also invested in European-focused life sciences venture capital fund, Medicixi III. This invests in biopharma companies from discovery to late-stage clinical assets. The fund supports projects it believes can deliver licensed drugs. This will have a significant benefit to patients with cancer or cardiovascular diseases.

Backing the health technology of the future

• Eka Ventures, £2.5 million investment

Eka Ventures invests in consumer technology start-ups in the UK. They focus on companies that contribute to an inclusive, healthy and sustainable society. We back Eka’s strategy to invest in solutions that:

• Empower customers and patients to make better health choices. For example, through early diagnosis tools,
• Offer consumers access to better products and services relating to health. For example, around nutrition and financial health,
• Reduce environmental damage by focusing on tech brands that create consumer models that use less resource, reduce waste and lower emissions and on supply chain tech that enables brands to change the environmental footprint of their existing activities.

Driving outcomes-based practices for impact

• Bridges Social Outcomes Fund II, £5 million investment

Bridges Fund Management is a specialist private markets manager. Their focus is on making sustainable and impact investments that generate both attractive risk-adjusted financial returns and better societal outcomes within four themes. These are: healthier lives, future skills, sustainable planet and stronger communities.

We invested in its Bridges Social Outcomes Fund II. This provides working capital and ongoing support to organisations delivering projects. These help to prevent homelessness, and improve health, wellbeing and employment outcomes for vulnerable young people and adults.

Social outcomes contracts are increasingly used by Government to commission vital social services from mission-driven delivery partners. Instead of the traditional ‘fee for service’ approach, these contracts are structured so that the commissioner pays for the achievement of agreed performance milestones, not the delivery of a specific service. This change in focus allows for a more collaborative approach to service design. Furthermore, it also allows for greater flexibility in service delivery, and clearer accountability for improving people’s lives.

Since the team started investing in outcomes contracts in 2011, Bridges has supported over 50 of these projects, working with over 100 delivery partners. Their projects have helped to improve the lives of more than 28,000 people around the UK. Also, their projects enable Government to achieve better value for public money.

Boosting innovation in diagnostics and prevention

• Baillie Gifford Worldwide Healthcare Innovation Fund, £3 million investment

We invested capital in the Baillie Gifford Worldwide Healthcare Innovation Fund. This Fund invests globally in healthcare companies taking an innovative approach to diagnostics, treatment and prevention of diseases. Furthermore, the Fund currently holds 35 listed companies all with potential to bring substantial improvements to human health and healthcare systems and deliver attractive investment returns over the long term.

Investing in more effective health and social care

• Apposite Healthcare Fund II, £6 million investment

Our first impact investment was in the Apposite Healthcare Fund II. This invests in UK and European healthcare businesses that are developing healthcare and social care services, digital health solutions and medical products and pharmaceuticals. In addition, the fund is currently invested in seven companies that deliver high quality, efficient and cost-effective care solutions.