More and more companies are calling for stronger regulation for themselves and their peers to codify supply chain best practice into UK law. — Recently, 47 companies, investors, business associations and initiatives published a joint statement calling on the UK Government to “introduce a new legal requirement for companies and investors to carry out human rights and environmental due diligence”. These businesses are ahead of the curve, prioritising morality and reputation over efficiency and…

Professor Tim Spector OBE was the headline speaker at the BVCA’s Sector Conference in London last week. He provided insight that was relevant to all three sectors covered at the conference — Health, Consumer & Retail and Emerging Tech — as he talked about the gut microbiome and the investment…

Retirement is unlikely to be front of mind for a Gen Z’er. Yet, as they take steps into the world of work, their auto-enrolment into a pension scheme will see cash put away to support their twilight years. — If they work in the private sector there’s a high chance they’ll be paying into a default Defined Contribution (DC) pension scheme. …

The BVCA has published three pieces capturing some of the discussion points at the recent Summit. In the third and final instalment we reflect on speakers’ comments on the role the industry will play in challenging times. Speakers at the BVCA Summit in October were positive as to the industry’s role in the more challenging economic environment ahead. — No-one was playing down the seriousness of the macro-economic situation or the challenges it poses to investors at the BVCA Summit in October. However, there was a widely shared belief that private equity is well positioned for a downturn, and that it can play a positive role in UK growth…

How can more people have access to private equity’s investment returns in a responsible way? The question of ‘democratisation’ was on almost everyone’s lips at this year’s BVCA Summit. — Private equity is in the early stages of a seismic shift in its investor base, according to speakers at this year’s BVCA Summit. However, catering to a more mass-market investor base in a responsible way will require careful thought around the right structural mechanisms.

700 BVCA members and stakeholders of the private capital industry were out in force at the industry’s largest UK conference, the BVCA Summit, in central London on 6 October for the first time in-person since 2019. — BVCA members, stakeholders and industry leaders remained confident about investment opportunities and the critical role of ESG, despite the turbulent economic conditions. The significance of the industry and its conference was recognised by Sky News inclusion of BVCA chair, Charlie Troup, on their business programme “Ian King Live”, speaking directly…

At the end of April, the BVCA published an independent study — produced by The Ernst & Young LLP (EY) QUEST (Quantitative Economics and Statistics) practice — quantifying the economic contribution of private equity and venture capital to the UK’s economy in 2021. You can read it here. The study…

Private equity and venture capital can play an outsized role in the economic transition that is unfolding. What progress is the industry making? — A central aim of the COP26 Climate Change Conference is to rally finance in support of achieving global net zero by 2050. Private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) may not have been quick to engage with this goal, but now the industry is mobilising, it is able to translate…

What is driving VC and PE firms to certify as B Corps and publicly commit to using business as a force for good, journalist Christian Doherty finds out The past decade has seen the emergence of a whole raft of initiatives, standards and guidelines aimed at improving ESG performance among…