International Men’s Day is an opportunity to raise awareness of men’s mental health and wellbeing. The day serves as a reminder to support and continue the positive conversations around mental health and its impact on wider society, encouraging people to speak up and reach out to one another; and offer support to those who may need it.
In the UK, 1 in 8 men have suffered a mental health issue and men are three times more likely than women to die by suicide, with suicide being the biggest cause of male deaths under the age of 54. These statistics alone are part of the reason why we keep sharing best practices to normalise the conversation on mental health and wellbeing within the private equity industry and beyond.
At NorthEdge, mental health and wellbeing are high on our agenda for our business and across our portfolio. We are committed to continually supporting our colleagues and community within this area, and to facilitate a proactive approach to address the importance of mental health.
We also support several initiatives which encourage conversations on mental health and wellbeing, including:
Co-founders James Routledge and George Bettany started Sanctus around a simple mission: to normalise the conversation around mental health in the workplace and make proactive support more readily available at work.
We have an ongoing partnership with Sanctus, an organisation that helps businesses pro-actively support their people to achieve better mental health. Our partnership ensures that there are dedicated one-to-one coaching sessions available with an expert coach for Team NorthEdge every month.
In 2021, we invited Sanctus Co-founder George to join us on our Beyond the Capital podcast for World Mental Health Day. Listen to the episode here.
Andy’s Man Club is an organisation which supports men over the age of 18 with their mental health. With centres found across the UK, the clubs help over 3,000 men each week by talking and sharing their struggles and issues, with the aim to normalise the conversation around male mental health.
In 2023, Andy’s Man Club founder – Luke Ambler – joined us on our Beyond the Capital podcast to share his background and supporting our wellbeing within the private equity industry and beyond. Listen to the episode here.
In recognition of the day, we have made a donation to Andy’s Man Club to support them to continue the important work they are doing in this space.
NorthEdge was one of the first private equity firms to become signatories to the Mindful Employer Charter. We also encourage other members of our portfolio and network to do the same and take a positive stance on mental health in the workplace.
To learn more about how we support our people, portfolio, and industry with regards to mental health and wellbeing, read our latest ESG report.