- Earthworm re-launches impact EIS fund; the only EIS fund that is exclusively environmentally focused
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To continue the growth of the company and help bring a renewed focus to its mission, and it has also appointed two team members to the board
June 2020 – This month Earthworm are re-launching their Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) fund as the “Earthworm Impact EIS fund”. They feel that this more accurately reflects its core values. Earthworm is dedicated to investment in forward thinking companies in the sustainable sector and is the only EIS fund of its kind that is exclusively environmentally focused.
Earthworm believes that people are becoming more conscious of the choices they make in their everyday lives and the wider environmental impact these choices have. This increased consciousness is proved to lead buyers to support companies with the same goals and this macro trend will drive greater profitability and new opportunities for sustainable businesses.
From a Government report published at the end of last year, it is clear investors in the UK care about the impact that their money can have. They found most people wanted their investments to avoid harm and do good for people and the planet. The majority of people surveyed said that they were interested in sustainable investing and that they would choose to make their investments sustainable if they could. Despite this, fewer than 15% currently hold a sustainable investment, so there is a meaningful gap between investors’ aspirations and their actions.
The Impact EIS fund aims to address this, channeling investment into environmental and sustainability sectors including food production, energy efficiency and waste management. Funds deployed to date are over £75m, and in the re-launch of the fund Earthworm have altered their fee structure; increasing competitiveness, and ensuring a greater proportion of a client’s investment will be eligible for the tax reliefs associated with EIS investments.
Ben Prior
Continuing their move towards the future, Kerry Hughes, Head of Portfolio and Investment, and Kim Hawkins, General Counsel, have joined the board of Earthworm.
These key appointments, coupled with the improved impact fund, are another step in the growth of the Earthworm community of employees and investors with a like-minded passion to have a positive impact on our world.
Ben Prior, founder of Earthworm, added: “The world is changing, and we all need to be more responsible for the decisions we make and the impact that we can have on the world and communities around us. The Earthworm vision has so far been 10 years in the making. To implement real change, the business needs to keep building and bringing in excellent people with fresh ideas.
There’s so much potential around to have a truly positive impact, and with the re-launch of our impact EIS fund alongside Kerry and Kim using their new roles to focus their energy on how we can do that here at Earthworm, the impact we can make has the potential to be huge.”
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