Since our inception in 2012, building better, more sustainable businesses has been central to how we create value at NorthEdge. We do this because it’s the right thing to do, and because it makes businesses more resilient and more valuable for all of our stakeholders. Our latest report reflects another year of progress against that belief.
As first-time institutional investors for many of the founders and management teams we back, we see our role as helping good businesses become better ones. We believe that, when grounded in materiality, sustainability and responsible investing are not a constraint on returns but a driver of them. This year we have sharpened that focus further – concentrating our time, influence and data on the factors that genuinely create value and build resilience across our portfolio.
For the third year running, we have commissioned an independent review of the economic and social impact of NorthEdge and our portfolio across the nations and regions of the UK. The findings, detailed later in this report, continue to demonstrate the material contribution that we have made in the regions where we choose to invest – well-paid employment, higher productivity and growth created predominantly outside London and the South East. Alongside this, we have taken the deliberate step of introducing independent, third-party support for the collection and validation of our portfolio data to improve the quality of the data we collect. This is a critical part of our evolution, as we believe that better data leads to better decisions, and better decisions build better businesses.
Throughout the last 12 months, we have had many highlights and achievements, including:
- Commissioning business economist, Mark Gregory to undertake an independent review of our economic and societal impact in the UK regions for the third year in a row – which shows, on a like for like basis, an 11% increase in Direct GVA contribution and higher productivity, up 11% in real terms between 2023 and 2025
- Positive progress against our net zero plan and a material improvement to our eNPS score
- Receiving external recognition for our sustainability approach from Real Deals, UK Private Capital and Orbis Advisory
- Continued efforts from our portfolio to progress against their sustainability goals – from carbon reduction and colleague engagement through to cyber security
- Organising and participating in numerous events and activities for organisations and charities – collectively with our portfolio raising and donating c.£290,000 in 2025
As the landscape continues to evolve, our commitment to transparency, accountability and continuous improvement remains at the core of how we invest. Because we don’t believe that financial value and positive impact are mutually exclusive – we believe that when you focus on what is material, you can, and should, deliver both.