The Hub Pharmacy has won a Red Rose Award 2017. The Awards celebrate Lancashire business, commerce and industry, offering a platform to promote success in the North West, and encouraging local trading. The judges had to say of The Hub: “The Hub pharmacy has an outstanding business model that addresses community needs. They are innovative […]
Read moreIn Wales, the government is working to increase the number of apprenticeships available to people of all ages. Wales Online discusses these efforts, and features Wholebake, the Bridges-backed gluten-free snack-bar manufacturer, as an exemplar programme. Wholebake Operations Manager Richard Jones explains how the company’s apprenticeship programme has become a useful tool for training up skilled workers […]
Read moreThe Office Group announces that it has opened its sixth site in Marylebone. The site is a Grade II Listed Building, formerly part of British Rail’s Headquarters and has been standing empty for 30 years. It will be run alongside the five existing sites across the south of England offering alternative managed offices space. […]
Read moreBridges Ventures, the venture capital company with a social mission, won the Social Investor of the Year Award at the 2008 European Venture Capital Journal Awards last Wednesday evening. Bridges Ventures delivers social returns by investing in companies based in the most deprived areas of the UK and in businesses that offer a strong intrinsic […]
Read moreThe deal was backed by private equity investors Kaye Enterprises, Bridges Ventures and Calculus Capital with debt provided by The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). Saffery Champness Corporate Finance acted as lead advisors, Jones Day acted for the investors and Osborne Clarke provided legal advice to the management team, which sees the buyout of existing […]
Read moreBridges Ventures, the venture capital company with a social mission, has raised £75m for its second fund, Bridges Community Development Venture (CDV) Fund II, beating its original target of £50m by 50% and its original hard cap of £60m. The second fund, which includes many follow-on investors from the first fund, has raised more than […]
Read moreBridges Ventures has invested £2.3m to fund the purchase of three blocks of studio apartments to provide key worker housing for hospital staff employed by Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust. The property is in Derriford, Plymouth, which meets Bridges social criteria of investments situated in the most under invested areas in the UK. Bridges Ventures has […]
Read moreBrian Trelstad, partner and head of Bridges Impact+ in the US, writes in the LSE Business Review about how to scale the impact investing sector. One of the main obstacles currently, he argues, is the lack of a clear and broadly-accepted definition of what we mean when we talk about impact – at every stage […]
Read moreBridges Ventures, the venture capital company with a social mission, announces that it is backing the management buyout of SealSkinz, the Norfolk-based manufacturer of unique waterproof socks and gloves beloved of bikers and hikers. With a turnover of £2m, SealSkinz sells a range of outdoor clothing products mainly through specialist outdoor and cycle retailers such […]
Read moreBridges Ventures, the venture capital company with a social mission, has established an Advisory Board, which includes leading figures from the worlds of private equity, business, banking and asset management. The board will meet twice a year and will help Bridges Ventures with strategic issues, as well as providing a forum for discussion about social […]
Read moreBridges Ventures today announces the launch of the Bridges Social Entrepreneurs Fund, a new fund dedicated to investment in social enterprises. The Fund is an initiative of the Bridges Charitable Trust and has so far raised £4.25 million. NESTA, the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts, who made the first commitment to the […]
Read moreGym membership in the UK is currently more expensive than anywhere else in Europe, according to market research company Mintel. Bridges Ventures, a venture capital company with a social mission, has invested a first tranche of £1m in The Gym, a low cost, high-quality gym provider. The Gym will provide quality gym facilities at […]
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