Neighbourly raises £3m Series A investment to accelerate growth and impact

Neighbourly Ltd, the award-winning community investment and engagement platform has secured Series A funding from Guinness Asset Management.

Neighbourly connects businesses with thousands of vetted local charities and good causes across the UK and Ireland through a technology platform that facilitates the donation of volunteer time, redistribution of surplus products and grant funding to make the maximum positive impact in local communities. Critically, the platform measures activities in real time and provides evidence of the social and environmental value delivered.

The Neighbourly platform, launched in 2014, has worked with corporate partners like Aldi, M&S, Lidl, Danone, M&G Investments, Cadent and RSA Insurance, to support over 16,000 local good causes across the UK and Ireland that help an average of 350 people each per week. As the UK market leader in community investment and engagement, Neighbourly has helped disburse £13m in microgrants, deliver 70,000 hours of employee volunteering time, redistribute 50m meals and save 80,000 tonnes of CO₂.

The investment in Neighbourly comes at a time when businesses are increasingly needed to deliver sustainable social value as part of their overall strategy, which has been accelerated by the impact of Covid-19 and the climate crisis.  Over the last 18 months, Neighbourly has seen a significant increase in demand from businesses wanting to deliver and measure social impact at a local level, as well as from local good causes wanting to make that connection.

The shift towards a more equitable stakeholder capitalism model is showing how essential building trust is to creating stable and sustainable communities, highlighting the importance of localisation when it comes to businesses supporting good causes. In addition to employee and consumer pressure for action, increased interest in how businesses are translating environmental, social and governance (ESG) expectations from investors and wider stakeholders is also driving take up, with sustainability critical to long term wealth creation.

The Series A investment into one of the UK’s founding B Corporations follows three years of strong growth and will help accelerate product development, expand the team and respond to demand for international expansion. As part of the investment, Guinness Fund Manager Ashley Abrahams will join the board of directors alongside the existing team.

Steve Butterworth, CEO of Neighbourly, said:

“We are delighted to welcome Guinness to the Neighbourly team and for Ashley to join us on the board. He immediately understood the Neighbourly proposition and the value it delivers for businesses and local good causes alike, against the backdrop of the rapidly evolving ESG landscape. Our strong belief is that businesses must prioritise the proven power of local good causes, who are the backbone of our communities. A thriving community and resilient population of hyper-local causes is vital to the success of both society and the economy.”

Ashley Abrahams, Fund Manager at Guinness Asset Management, said:

“Guinness is extremely pleased to be supporting Neighbourly during this exciting time of growth, expansion, and product development. Neighbourly has a unique proposition that can make a real difference to local community engagement, is ideally placed to address key components of the corporate ESG agenda and help businesses deliver long term sustainable growth that is beneficial for all stakeholders. Steve and the team have been very successful in driving the company forward over the last three years and we very much look forward to working with them as they embark on the next stage of their growth.”

Glen Waters, Head of PwC Raise | Ventures, said:

“We are thrilled to have delivered an exceptional result in finding the right investor for such a first-class team and business. Neighbourly has a unique proposition that can deliver measurable impact and a platform that can help tackle essential ESG challenges. Guinness Asset Management will be a great partner for Neighbourly and its investment will help management to continue to invest in the platform and the team, realising the phenomenal market opportunity and growth potential.”

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Notes to Editors

About Neighbourly  

Neighbourly is a community investment and engagement platform that connects businesses like Aldi, M&S, Danone, M&G Investments, Cadent and RSA Insurance, with over 16,000 local vetted charities and good causes across the UK. The Neighbourly platform facilitates the donation of volunteer time, surplus products and financial support targeted to support local good causes and help build strong communities in an impactful, transparent, sustainable, and measurable way. Feedback from charities brings the impact of a contribution to life, improving community relations, building positive brand sentiment, and increasing employee wellbeing. Please see www.neighbourly.com for more details.

Neighbourly was advised by PWC’s specialist SME Raise Team and supported by Taylor Wessing LLP

About Guinness Asset Management  

Guinness Asset Management is a London-based specialist fund management company, established in 2003. Guinness manages over £3 billion for institutional and retail investors, investing in public and private companies. Guinness is a leading EIS Investor who since 2010 has raised and invested over £200 million into more than 100 companies across the Guinness EIS and Guinness AIM EIS portfolios. Please see www.guinnessfunds.com for more details.

About PwC

At PwC, our purpose is to build trust in society and solve important problems. We’re a network of firms in 157 countries with more than 284,000 people who are committed to delivering quality in assurance, advisory and tax services. Find out more and tell us what matters to you by visiting us at www.pwc.com. PwC refers to the PwC network and/or one or more of its member firms, each of which is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/structure for further details.