WHY BECOME A PHILCO?

Doing good is good for business; becoming a PhilCo embeds philanthropy into your business structure, ensuring your success directly contributes to social good.

ABOUT THE PHILCO MODEL

WHAT IS A PHILCO?

A philanthropic company, or PhilCo, is a business which has at least 10% of its shares owned by a charitable foundation. This model aligns purpose with profitability, allowing businesses to create a lasting societal impact while strengthening their brand, resilience, and long-term financial performance.

HOW DO THEY WORK?

PhilCo’s have at least 10% of its shares owned by a charitable foundation. Businesses can either create a new charitable structure or transfer shares into an existing charity. By creating a foundation-ownership model they secure a sustainable mechanism for philanthropy. This fosters the balance between social impact and profitability, ensuring businesses grow stronger while contributing to the communities they serve.

WHERE IS THE PHILCO MODEL WORKING?

For many years, European markets have embraced philanthropy and foundation-owned businesses. Some of the world’s biggest and most successful brands have adopted this structure including Aldi, Bosch, Ikea, Lego, Patagonia and Rolex amongst others. We want to unleash a new wave of purpose-driven PhilCo’s in the UK and beyond. .

DOING GOOD IS GOOD FOR BUSINESS

There’s empirical proof that the PhilCo model improves
performance on many levels, including efficiency, longevity and loyalty.

LONGEVITY

PhilCos are three times as likely to last 40 years than other companies. (The Foundation Owned Company Model. Bottge 2021)

LOYALTY

Studies show that PhilCos are more stable employers and retain their people for longer. (Foundation ownership, reputation,and labour. Borsting and Thomsen 2017)

EFFICIENCY

PhilCos show a 50% higher return on assets (European Corporate Governance Institute. Schroeder & Thomsen 2019)

PROFITABILITY

Becoming a PhilCo doesn’t mean compromising on profitability; on the whole they perform as well as companies with more traditional shareholder structures. (Corporate Governance in Contention. Thomesen 2018)

WHY REED?

A LEGACY OF LEADERSHIP

The Reed Foundation was created in 1986 by Sir Alec Reed and now owns 18% of the Reed group. The Foundation benefits from almost one fifth of the annual dividends paid out from the main business. This income has financed thousands of charitable initiatives including Big Give, the UK’s biggest match funding platform.