Creating an efficient and sustainable world.

Food | Agriculture | Circular economy | Waste management

Fund Spotlight

Circularity European Growth Fund I & II | Circularity Capital

Private equity | Impact venture and growth capital

Circularity invests £1-5m in innovative, market leading growth-stage businesses that adopt or enable the shift to the circular economy. The growth of the circular economy (companies that design out waste through their operations, processes and products) will be a fundamental contributor to achieving climate targets. Circularity Capital is set up solely to support the growth of the circular economy. The team has specific expertise and a broad network which has yielded a strong pipeline of opportunities and is enabling the composition of a diversified portfolio. The funds invest in companies where impact is directly aligned with growth, for example PackBenefit S.L. is a market leading manufacturer of sustainable packaging solutions for the foodservice industry and Grover a flexible monthly subscription service for everyday devices such as laptops, smart phones, tablets and digital cameras. The circular economy is a high growth area and Circularity Capital ranked as our top choice when we researched this sector. The Funds have a robust impact thesis and impact is integrated through the investment process. Circularity’s impact reporting in particular is of the highest quality.

Underlying Holding Spotlight

Shark Solutions

Shark Solutions is the market leader in the production of recycled polyvinyl butyral (rPVB), a high-margin, sustainable, non-toxic, recyclable material, with a variety of attractive technical properties including binding, adhesion, flexibility and sound dampening performance.

Traditional approaches to the recycling of end of life laminated glass (including windscreens and architectural glass) are unable to capture the highly valuable polymer interlayer (PvB) that improves performance under impact. Shark has developed a cost-effective process for separating PVB for use in a range of industries, including paints, coatings, adhesives and flooring products.

Shark Solution’s plants in Europe and the United States manufacture tens of thousands of tonnes of material per year for leading, global industrial companies, including for use in a number of Cradle-to-Cradle Certified® products.

Protecting, restoring and promoting the sustainable use of ecosystems.

Aquaculture | Sustainable forestry | Ecosystem pollution reduction

Fund Spotlight

Aqua-Spark

Private equity | Impact venture and growth capital

Aqua-Spark was the first impact fund to focus on small and medium sized enterprises in the aquaculture sector. It is a global investment fund based in Utrecht, the Netherlands, that is developing an optimal aquaculture food system by investing in companies all along the aquaculture value chain with a shared vision of a sustainable future. The manager is mission aligned with Snowball, achieving impact alongside a bolder ambition to solve core challenges in the aquaculture industry.

Underlying Holding Spotlight

Sea6 Energy

Sea6 Energy, headquartered in India, with a subsidiary in Indonesia, is the developer of the SeaCombine, a mechanised system that can simultaneously harvest and replant seaweed in deep ocean waters. The SeaCombine enables Sea6 to produce and harvest seaweed at significant scale in the open ocean, in an economically viable way, finally unlocking the path to true scale for seaweed farming. Sea6’s first-of-its-kind innovation is well-positioned to impact how we farm seaweed and its utilisation across industries. It gets us much closer to realising algae as a commercial scale aquafeed ingredient and as a direct source of protein for all. The company has also developed downstream processing for seaweed, currently turning it into products for agriculture, animal health, food ingredients, bioplastics, and renewable chemicals.

Snowball blog: Explore our portfolio: Aqua-Spark

Enhancing physical and mental health, promoting sustainable agriculture, improving nutrition, access to clean water and sanitation.

Social care and targeted interventions | Medical research | Water quality and water efficiency

Fund Spotlight

Bridges Social Outcomes Fund I & II | Bridges Fund Management

Fixed income | Social outcomes contracts

These funds provide working capital to support the delivery of social outcomes contracts, where investors get paid a return if certain outcomes are achieved. The outcomes contracts enable the Bridges team, in partnership with Government commissioners and mission-driven organisations, to design and deliver projects that will improve the lives of vulnerable people. Bridges Fund Management is a values-aligned manager who has developed expertise in social outcomes contracts and has committed resources to develop this product. These investments are high impact because they are highly focused, delivering personalised and high quality support to particularly overlooked groups, such as vulnerable women, children on the edge of care or young homeless people. These interventions are evidence-based and closely monitored to ensure outcome targets are met and can significantly improve the life chances of people who receive them.

Underlying Holding Spotlight

Pause

A charity that provides services to women who are at risk of repeat removals of their children into care. Pause helps women to pause and take control of their lives, putting in place strong foundations on which they can build a more positive future for themselves. Pause’s aim is to break transgenerational cycles and support vulnerable women to develop a sense of self-worth with significant improvements to substance abuse, domestic violence and mental health, as well as improving contact with children and gaining access to services. Pause delivers a support service with a social outcomes contract, the outcomes of which is not that the mother gets her child or children back, but that she engages with support to focus on herself, increasing her health, wellbeing and employability and taking a pause from pregnancy.

Improving the terms on which individuals and groups take part in society.

Education | Employment | Financial inclusion

Fund Spotlight

Ananda Venture Fund I & IV | Ananda Impact Ventures

Private equity | Impact venture and growth capital

Ananda is a European venture fund manager based in Germany that invests in and scales impact-driven for-profit enterprises across healthcare, education, sustainability, and social justice. Ananda has a strong track record and meets our financial return requirement for impact venture and growth equity. Impact is at the core of its operations. We believe Ananda walks the walk when it comes to impact. The manager’s carry is tied to impact, it has an impact term sheet which is pioneering and an independent advisory committee which signs off on KPIs and targets.

Snowball blog: Explore our portfolio: Ananda

Underlying Holding Spotlight

Auticon

Auticon provides employment for adults on the autistic spectrum in the IT sector, sourced through partnerships with IT companies. It is now an established business, employing over 200 consultants and with multiple international offices. Most adults on the autism spectrum are under or unemployed, but they bring unique cognitive strengths to the workplace, including a different perspective, attention to detail, a systematic approach to tasks and pattern recognition, skills which are highly valued.

Companies that work with consultants from Auticon say how much their other employees benefit from having an Auticon employee on their team. We really like the impact that this company brings to not only the individuals that are employed but also the businesses that are involved.

Making homes and communities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.

Social housing | Homelessness solutions

Fund Spotlight

Women in Safe Homes | Resonance Ltd

Real Assets | Social property and supported housing

The Women in Safe Homes fund is the world’s first gender-lens property fund. It provides a solution to the lack of affordable, safe and secure homes across the UK for women and their children, who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness. We like the model because it empowers charities to select an appropriate property for each individual’s needs and the team has experience providing life changing support to underserved groups. The need for this housing has been increasing and COVID’s impact on women experiencing domestic abuse as well as survivors of historic abuse has been immense. Resonance actively uses impact data to improve, learn and prioritise the needs of the tenants. We view them as one of the leading impact managers across with UK.

The fund will deliver a running yield from residents’ housing benefits (Local Housing Allowance and Exempt Housing Benefit rents) and returns are enhanced by house price increases over the life of the fund. The revenues are government backed which diversifies portfolio income streams and is uncorrelated to wider macroeconomic factors.

Resonance blog: Interview with Snowball's Investment director, Abigail Rotheroe on why Snowball is supporting and investing in WISH.

Spotlight on WISH Tenant

Poppy is currently living in a refuge. She arrived during the second lockdown after fleeing her abusive partner.

“Finding accommodation in a refuge was a blessing in disguise. I was in a horrible situation, but I can honestly say that Refuge saved me. The staff helped me with everything from sorting my benefits and registering with a GP, to supporting me through the daily struggle of rebuilding my life.”