M and A
Stephen Lansdown Backs Creative Industries Investment Group

One of the men behind London-listed Hargreaves Lansdown has acquired a stake in Edge Investments.
Stephen Lansdown, the co-founder of financial services group Hargreaves Lansdown, has become a partner and shareholder in Edge Investments, the UK-based creative industries investment firm.
Lansdown, who has previously invested in Edge’s funds, is taking a 10 per cent stake in the firm through the private equity arm of the family office he founded with Gordon Power. Lansdown will work alongside Edge’s founder and chief executive, David Glick, as he expands the business.
The investment, details of which were not disclosed, follows the firm's recent launch of its £40 million ($60.5 million) Edge Creative Enterprise Fund. Edge said it was evaluating a number of creative industries businesses and plans to deploy the fund in 2016.
Lansdown co-founded Hargreaves Lansdown with Peter Hargreaves in 1981 and served as chairman of the group until 2009. He stepped down from the board in 2012 to pursue other ventures, having helped to build up the business and bring it to the London Stock Exchange in 2007. Today, the group, which provides private client services, has a market value of £6.7 billion.
“I have enormous respect for the role Edge plays in funding young, fast-growing creative industries businesses. So I was delighted to take this opportunity to acquire a stake and support David and his colleagues as they develop the business. This is an industry with enormous potential for entrepreneurs and investors alike and Edge is the perfect firm to bring those two groups together successfully,” said Lansdown.