We are conviction investors
Bridges was founded in 2002 by Sir Ronald Cohen, Michele Giddens and Philip Newborough – driven by a shared belief that business and investment could play a vital role in tackling some of our most pressing social and environmental challenges.
Through careful analysis of the trends shaping our future, we have spent the last 17 years identifying investment solutions that can help to make our economy more inclusive and more sustainable – and by doing so, unlock lasting economic value.
Over time, we believe this will attract more private capital into investments that benefit people and the planet.
£1bn
Capital raised
160+
Portfolio investments
4
Investment strategies
1
Mission
Proven
Since 2002, we’ve shown that investing in a more inclusive and sustainable future – for example by creating jobs in underserved areas, or delivering better health or education outcomes, or finding smarter ways to reduce carbon emissions – can consistently create both long-term economic value and measurable societal impact. That’s enabled us to raise over £1bn to date.
2002
Bridges is founded by Sir Ronald Cohen, Michele Giddens and Philip Newborough. It launches the first fund of its kind in the UK: a growth capital vehicle targeting market-rate returns by investing in businesses with a positive social or environmental impact.
2009
Launch of our Social Entrepreneurs Fund, providing quasi-equity and operational support to ambitious social enterprises looking to scale
2010
Launch of our property investment strategy, with a focus on growth locations and needs-driven sectors
2012
Bridges celebrates its 10th anniversary with a special event featuring former Vice President Al Gore as guest speaker.
2013
We launch the first fund in the world dedicated to supporting social outcomes contracts commissioned by Government and delivered by high-impact organisations.
2013
Creation of our specialist in-house impact advisory team, to support our investment teams and facilitate the growth of the broader market
2015
Our first IPO: The Gym Group lists on the London Stock Exchange at a valuation of £250 million.
2016
Launch of the Impact Management Project, an unprecedented industry-wide collaboration to agree norms and benchmarks for understanding and managing impact
2019
Our total funds raised to date surpass £1bn, after successful closes for our latest Growth Business, Long-term Capital and Social Outcomes vehicles
Passionate 
We’re passionate about using investment to find scalable solutions to the challenges facing people and the planet. Collectively, our team has decades of experience working with like-minded partners, helping them to maximise the potential and optimise the impact of their ideas.
Pioneering
We were one of the first fund managers in the world to launch an impact-driven investment fund. Since then we’ve pioneered multiple investment products to channel private capital towards impactful SMEs, property and social sector organisations. We’ve also helped to support the broader growth of this approach through advisory work, field-building publications and our own philanthropy.
A better way of working
We strive to be ethical and responsible investors and asset-owners, taking all potential stakeholders into account in every decision we make. Learn more in our Ethical Charter, Responsible Investment Policy and our Sustainable Property Policy.
We are amongst the highest rated investment managers in the world according to the UN Principles of Responsible Investment.
We are a registered B Corporation (in fact, we are one of B Corp’s Best for the World).
We are also signatories to the UN Principles for Responsible Investment, The Sustainable Protein Initiative, and the Stockholm Declaration.
