{{short description|British fund manager firm}} {{cleanup-PR|1=article|date=June 2017}} {{Infobox company | name = Bridges Fund Management | logo = | caption = | type = | traded_as = | genre = | predecessor = | successor = | foundation = 2002 | founder = Michele Giddens, Philip Newborough and Sir Ronald Cohen | defunct = | location = London, {{postcode|W|1}}<br>United Kingdom | locations = | area_served = | key_people = | industry = Financial industry | products = | services = | revenue = | operating_income = | net_income = | assets = | equity = | owner = | num_employees = | parent = | divisions = | subsid = | homepage = {{url|bridgesventures.com}} | footnotes = | intl = }}
'''Bridges Fund Management Ltd.''' (or '''Bridges''') (Previously Bridges Ventures) is a fund manager that specialises in sustainable and impact investing. It invests in business, properties and social sector organisations, with a focus on four impact themes: health and wellbeing,<ref>{{cite web|title=Bridges Ventures invests £11m in Spanish low-cost chain Viva Gym|url=https://www.altassets.net/private-equity-news/by-news-type/deal-news/bridges-ventures-invests-in-spanish-low-cost-chain-viva-gym.html|website=AltAssets|date=30 November 2015|accessdate=27 June 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Bollen|first1=Jennifer|title=Bridges Ventures eyes pharmacy expansion|url=http://www.efinancialnews.com/story/2015-06-02/bridges-ventures-medicx-pharmacy-group|website=Financial News|accessdate=20 May 2016|date=2 June 2015}}</ref> education<ref>{{cite web|title=Bridges Ventures sells Babington for £22m|url=https://www.altassets.net/private-equity-news/by-news-type/deal-news/bridges-ventures-sells-babington-for-22m.html|website=AltAssets|date=18 April 2016|accessdate=27 June 2016}}</ref> and skills,<ref>{{cite news|last1=Palmer|first1=Kate|title=Bridges Ventures sells online training college for £22m|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/04/17/bridges-ventures-sells-online-training-college-for-22m/|website=The Daily Telegraph|date=17 April 2016|accessdate=20 May 2016}}</ref> sustainable living and under-served markets.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Hill|first1=Nick|title=£6.6m sale completed for Airedale House in Leeds city centre|url=https://bdaily.co.uk/industrials/06-05-2016/66m-sale-completed-for-airedale-house-in-leeds-city-centre/|website=Bdaily News|accessdate=20 May 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Phan|first1=Phillip H.|last2=Bacq|first2=Sophie|last3=Nordqvist|first3=Mattias|title=Theory and Empirical Research in Social Entrepreneurship|date=28 Feb 2014|publisher=Edward Elgar Publishing|isbn=978-1782546832|pages=212–214|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=45vqAgAAQBAJ&q=bridges+ventures}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Vandekerckhove|first1=Wim|last2=Leys|first2=Jos|title=Responsible Investment in Times of Turmoil|date=31 Jan 2012|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|isbn=978-9400740709|pages=119–120|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O99GOKXUCZsC&q=bridges+ventures&pg=PA119}}</ref>
==History== Bridges was founded in 2002 by Michele Giddens,<ref>{{cite web|last1=Mathiason|first1=Nick|title=Venturing into new territory - capitalism with a conscience|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2009/nov/14/venture-capitalist-ethical-investments|website=The Guardian|accessdate=20 May 2016|date=14 November 2009}}</ref> Philip Newborough and Sir Ronald Cohen.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Future of Investment: Impact Investing|url=http://uksif.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/The-Future-of-Investment-Impact-Investing1.pdf|publisher=UKSIF|accessdate=18 November 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Levitt|first1=Tom|title=Partners for Good: Business, Government and the Third Sector|date=28 Sep 2012|publisher=Gower Publishing, Ltd.|isbn=9781409459422|pages=29–30|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KvAQuAS86TcC&q=bridges+ventures&pg=PA218}}</ref>
Bridges was founded following the recommendations of the Social Investment Task Force,<ref>{{cite news|last1=Quinn|first1=James|title=Pret man passionate about food - and hotels|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/2809513/Pret-man-passionate-about-food-and-hotels.html|accessdate=3 November 2015|publisher=The Daily Telegraph}}</ref> which was established by the UK government in 2000.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Balch|first1=Oliver|title=New UK study looks to turbo-charge social impact investment|url=https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2014/sep/16/social-impact-investment-uk-report-ronald-cohen|work=The Guardian|date=16 September 2014}}</ref>
Bridges has an advisory arm, Bridges Impact+. It has a dual function: to maximise the social and environmental impact of Bridges’ own investments, and to work with external clients on projects that help to develop the sustainable and impact investing market as a whole.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Henley|first1=Will|title=Private equity firms increasingly investing in social impact|url=https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/blog/private-equity-investment-social-impact-sustainability|website=The Guardian|accessdate=20 May 2016|date=8 January 2013}}</ref>
Bridges Impact+ also runs an educational programme in partnership with the Wharton School of Business’s Social Impact Initiative called MBA Impact Investing Networking & Training (MIINT).<ref>{{cite web|title=LBS MBA team wins £17,435 in Impact Investing Competition|url=https://www.london.edu/news-and-events/news/lbs-mba-team-wins-gbp-17435-in-impact-investing-competition#.Vz9voChNzIU|website=London Business School|accessdate=20 May 2016|language=en-GB}}</ref> The programme takes place annually and has historically included US graduate schools.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Macfarlane|first1=Alec|title=Bridges Ventures moves into US|url=http://www.efinancialnews.com/story/2015-01-26/bridges-ventures-moves-into-america-with-new-fund|website=Financial News|accessdate=27 June 2016|date=26 January 2015}}</ref> Social enterprises represented by the winning team are ultimately awarded a seed investment.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Wharton Social Impact Initiative|title=MIINT Competition Brings 10 Business Schools to Compete for $50,000 Opportunity|date=3 April 2015|url=https://socialimpact.wharton.upenn.edu/general-news/top-business-schools-compete-miint-competition/|publisher=Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania|accessdate=18 November 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Davidson|first1=Alex|title=How Startups Can Win Cash on Campus|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-startups-can-win-cash-on-campus-1414965265|accessdate=7 January 2016|work=The Wall Street Journal|date=November 3, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=MBAs will turn brownfields into green—if investors help them out|url=http://qz.com/198042/mbas-will-turn-brownfields-into-green-if-investors-help-them-out/|website=Quartz|accessdate=20 May 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Pritchard|first1=Becky|title=Bridges ventures into the community|url=http://www.efinancialnews.com/story/2014-03-13/fn100-profile-michele-giddens-bridges-ventures|website=Financial News|accessdate=20 May 2016|date=13 March 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Chassany|first1=Anne-Sylvaine|title=Bridges Ventures crosses funding hurdle|url=https://www.ft.com/content/3770867a-2d04-11e3-a0ac-00144feab7de|website=Financial Times|accessdate=27 June 2016|date=6 October 2013}}</ref>
Bridges won FT/IFC Sustainable Finance Award 2012 awarded by the ''Financial Times''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Bridges Ventures wins Award for Excellence at the 2012 FT/IFC Sustainable Finance Awards|url=http://aboutus.ft.com/2012/06/14/bridges-ventures-standard-chartered-and-kilimo-salama-among-those-honoured-at-the-2012-ftifc-sustainable-finance-awards/#axzz2GDm2Sbkt|website=Financial Times|accessdate=20 May 2016|archive-date=27 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160427203019/http://aboutus.ft.com/2012/06/14/bridges-ventures-standard-chartered-and-kilimo-salama-among-those-honoured-at-the-2012-ftifc-sustainable-finance-awards/#axzz2GDm2Sbkt|url-status=dead}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
Category:Private equity Category:Social finance Category:Social entrepreneurship Category:Financial services companies based in London Category:Financial services companies established in 2002 Category:2002 establishments in England Category:Private equity firms of the United Kingdom