Appoints Prof. Clark Chair of ESG Ethics Committee

IP Group plc appoints Gordon Clark, Emeritus Professor, Oxford University, and long-term investment expert, as Chair of ESG Ethics Committee

IP Group plc (LSE: IPO) ("IP Group" or "the Group" or "the Company"), the developer of intellectual property-based businesses, is pleased to announce that it has appointed Professor Gordon Clark, Senior Consultant and Emeritus Professor of the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, Oxford University, as Chair of its Ethics Committee.

The Group's Ethics Committee has been set up to oversee IP Group's Ethical Investment Framework which sets out the Group's approach to responsible investing. Professor Clark will Chair the Committee, providing advice on investments when required as well as reviewing the framework and ensuring compliance. The Committee will also comprise a member of the executive team, two partners representing the Group's investment focus areas of life sciences and technology as well as representation from the risk and compliance department.  Professor Clark will report to the IP Group plc Board on matters regarding the Ethical Investment Framework and Ethics Committee but is not a Board member.

Professor Clark is one of the most influential academics in the world in the field of investment management, particularly in relation to long-term ESG factors such as environmental performance.

Alan Aubrey, Chief Executive of IP Group plc and Board representative for ESG, said: "Responsible investing has long been at the heart of IP Group's ethos, as we aim to address some of the world's most pressing challenges and generate positive social and environmental impact alongside financial returns. We are very pleased to have Professor Clark working with IP Group as we formalise our approach to responsible investment. The recent COVID-19 outbreak has further brought to light the role of investors and companies in ensuring best practice in environmental, social and governance issues. Professor Clark has an excellent insight into this subject and we look forward to working with him."

Professor Clark said: "I look forward to working with IP Group on its ESG and ethics initiative. It's a remarkable time, of course, with the COVID-19 challenge and the issue of climate change - two particularly pressing and substantial issues, which both investors and the public are increasingly vocal about. I am pleased to be part of IP Group's work and contributing to a better understanding of the role that the company can play in addressing these issues."

As well as serving as a Professorial Fellow at St Edmund Hall, Oxford, Professor Clark is also co-Director of the Zurich-Oxford research programme at the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment.  He has been Sir Louis Matheson Distinguished Visiting Professor at Monash University's Faculty of Business and Economics (Melbourne) and is currently a Visiting Scholar at Stanford University's Global Projects Centre (part of the Faculty of Engineering). 

IP Group aims to address some of the world's most pressing challenges through the companies and innovation we back and support, allowing us to generate positive social and environmental impact alongside financial returns.

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About IP Group

IP Group is a leading intellectual property commercialisation company which focuses on evolving great ideas, mainly from its partner universities, into world-changing businesses. The Group has pioneered a unique approach to developing these ideas and the resulting businesses by providing access to business building expertise, capital (through its 100%-owned FCA-authorised subsidiaries IP Capital and Parkwalk Advisors), networks, recruitment and business support. IP Group has a strong track record of success and its portfolio comprises holdings in early-stage to mature businesses across life sciences and technology. IP Group is listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange under the code IPO.

For more information, please visit our website at www.ipgroupplc.com.

ENDS