Earthworm invests £3.7m into the future of our planet

As part of their mission to prove that smart investment doesn’t mean leaving your ethics at the door, in April Earthworm invested £3.7m across four companies that balance social and environmental responsibility with commercial opportunity: DMP Metals (£691k), LAT Water (£900k), Shepherd (£1.1m) and Vertical Future (£1.1m).

Earthworm is a fast-growing impact investor with a portfolio across food, energy and waste. Encouraging and supporting businesses that have a positive impact on the environment is central to the company’s ethos. Their recent investment furthers Earthworm’s bid to secure a more sustainable future, by investing in businesses with the longevity to redefine current supply chains and methods.

The investment into these four companies comes at a crucial economic time, where disruption in industry is leading to a shift in emphasis on the long-term impact, and flexibility of companies. This will become increasingly important as the wider conversation and focus switches back to protecting our planet and futures.

On the investment, Kerry Hughes, Earthworm’s Head of Portfolio and Investment said: “We are really proud to be supporting these businesses at a time when the UK economy desperately needs its entrepreneurs and the investment community to pull together. Covid-19 has impacted every aspect of our lives and will continue to do so for some time, but the way in which we build back from here is by supporting and investing in the sustainable businesses of tomorrow. We want to put a marker down to say that our aims to drive positive environmental change in the UK burn as bright as ever and we want to show that we can do some really incredible things when we all work together.”

About the companies:

DMP Metals is revolutionising waste management; establishing a facility that can recycle large amounts of previously wasted metal. The company uses a unique and innovative method of extracting non-ferrous metals from everyday items. By effectively isolating the non-ferrous materials through their efficient recycling technique, DMP Metals are able to recycle this higher-value metal from volume levels not currently the focus of mainstream metal processors.

LAT Water has developed an award-winning low-cost, high-efficiency technology for treating wastewater and/or desalination, using renewables or low-grade waste heat. The technology reduces the cost of water treatment, and meets best environmental practice and regulation. The company has won several awards for innovation and aims to expand its portfolio of sites and services in the UK and abroad.

Shepherd are award-winning specialists in property performance management, their advanced data science and real-time analytics transform the way businesses manage and maintain properties and assets by inspiring and empowering their clients to create smarter, more sustainable buildings. Shepherd is working with a wide range of other property companies to decarbonise and reduce risk across their buildings: from commercial office blocks and industrial parks, to helping Zurich UK look after vulnerable residents in their Housing Associations.

Vertical Future is focused on protecting the UK’s food security and improving long-term population health through building a better, smarter, more efficient food system. The company performs activities across growing, technology, and research and development, led by a management team that has experience spanning life sciences, engineering, and plant sciences. Vertical Future’s growing operations, based in Deptford, produce sustainable, pesticide-free produce for the food sector.

Earthworm’s investment will help each of these companies expand and develop their businesses – businesses that each have the potential to be game-changers in their industries.