International Women’s Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating women’s equality.

IWD has occurred for well over a century, with the first IWD gathering in 1911 supported by over a million people. Today, IWD belongs to all groups collectively everywhere.

What motivates you professionally?

A good, inspiring manager!

Davinya

HR Business Partner

I have always enjoyed a good challenge, and for me, the most fulfilling part of my job is being able to apply my skills to solve a problem for the business, be it analysing a dataset to identify a trend, or building a new forecast or model to help with decision-making. Working to solve new problems has also been great for picking up new skills along the way!

Kristiina

Finance Analyst

Tackling challenges.

Christelle

Investment Director

Helping the Real Estate team to find solutions and to manage risk appropriately. I also enjoy working with great people, sharing knowledge by training junior members of the team and in an environment where we are happy to challenge each other and have robust discussions.

Wensde

Head of Legal, Real Estate

What is your role and what does it involve?

A HR Business Partner
collaborates with business leaders to align HR strategies with organisational goals. We are responsible for talent management, employee relations, organisational development, and change management. We analyse data, provide HR guidance, and drive initiatives to support business success and employee engagement.

Davinya

HR Business Partner

As a Finance Analyst, my day-to-day work involves looking after the accounting and financial reporting for our IEP funds. I collaborate with various stakeholders in the business to get the most up to date information and then use this to prepare the accounts, monitor and report the performance of our investments, and analyse the key performance indicators that ultimately help management in deciding on future strategy.

Kristiina

Finance Analyst

I am an Investment Director within the Media Team which entails deploying capital in Film & TV projects as well as managing assets under our management to achieve optimum returns to our investors.

Christelle

Investment Director

I’m the Head of Legal in Real Estate so as well as providing internal legal advice on real estate fund matters, I work with my colleagues to execute real estate transactions efficiently and with an eye to managing legal risk.

Wensde

Head of Legal, Real Estate

How has being a ‘woman in finance’ impacted you professionally and/or personally?

It’s allowed me to work with many talented individuals who have helped me enhance and develop transferable skills. It’s also enabled me to flourish and know what kind of person and manager I’d like to be.

Davinya

HR Business Partner

I am very lucky in that here at Ingenious, we have a very inclusive workplace culture and I’ve always felt supported by the leadership as well as the fellow colleagues. At the start of my career, coming from a non-finance background, I struggled for quite a while with imposter syndrome, which can still manifest occasionally; however, over the years I have learnt that most people are willing to share their advice and experiences to help you grow professionally.

Kristiina

Finance Analyst

It has been challenging as I was unable to fully commit to a career in media finance whilst raising my two children. Since then, it has been all about working hard and finding the right balance between my professional and personal life.

Christelle

Investment Director

Professionally, the culture in Finance has changed a lot in the last few years with a better gender balance and more flexibility by hybrid working. That has created an improved culture in Finance as it is not dominated by a particular view. Personally, I can achieve a better balance between family and professional aspirations.

Wensde

Head of Legal, Real Estate

Share with us a woman who inspires you most or a quote that inspires you most.

My mother. She’s juggled working, being a wife and a mother at a young age. It’s been hard, especially when we were young. Having to return to work full-time after 6 months of maternity leave and trusting a stranger to look after her kids. It was a challenge, in her words, ‘I just did it. I had no choice.’ Her continuous strength and love inspires me every day!

Davinya

HR Business Partner

There are countless women that I draw inspiration from in various capacities, from professional successes to their social impact and personal qualities. I greatly admire Malala Yousafzai for fighting for women’s rights to education and being so steadfast in her convictions in the face of significant personal danger. As cliched as it sounds, I also draw inspiration from my Mum for the consistent work she has put in every day into raising her family whilst maintaining her career. One quote that I feel aligns closely with what I believe in is from another brilliant woman, Michelle Obama: “Success isn’t about how much money you make; it’s about the difference you make in people’s lives.

Kristiina

Finance Analyst

“Strong women don’t have ‘attitudes’, we have standards”. Marylyn Monroe.

Christelle

Investment Director

Barbara Hepworth. One of the most influential sculptors of the mid-20th Century and she had triplets in 1934! I walk past her Winged Figure on the John Lewis building on Oxford Street each day I come to our London office. The scale and beauty of its form, created by her, inspires me.

Wensde

Head of Legal, Real Estate

In another challenging year, and with another record-breaking number of award entries, Ingenious has secured a spot as one of the finalists in the Best BR Investment Manager – Unlisted category of the 2021 Growth Investor Awards, hosted by Intelligent Partnership. Now in their seventh year, the Growth Investor Awards are a key event in the investment industry calendar. The awards celebrate the companies and individuals who go above and beyond to support the UK’s growing businesses, and in doing so create jobs, boost economic growth and support innovation.


About the award

Sponsored by Exact Libris, The Best BR Investment Manager – Unlisted award is open to leading investment managers specialising in non-Aim-based investments qualifying for Business Property Relief. Ingenious will compete for the award alongside seven other impressive finalists: Blackfinch Investments, Foresight Group, Octopus Investments, Puma Investments, Seneca Partners, TIME Investments & Triple Point.

This year the Growth Investor Awards are being brought back as a live and in-person black-tie awards ceremony at the prestigious London Hilton Park Lane. Taking place on the evening of Thursday November 4, 2021, the awards present an ideal opportunity to catch up with old contacts, make new ones, and acknowledge the ongoing excellence and resilience of the industry at one of the most important moments in its history.

We are very proud to be recognised for our performance and achievements over the last 12 months and listed as finalists in the category of Best Unlisted BR. The Growth Investor Awards celebrate companies that go above and beyond to support investors and the UK’s growing businesses and we’re delighted to be nominated yet again.

Simon Harryman

Senior Business Development Director, Ingenious

We’re thrilled to be able to once again welcome our finalists in person to thank them for their drive and commitment in the last year. Without the work of the growth investment community, many more companies would have succumbed to the ongoing lockdowns or been unable to engage with the opportunities they have presented.

This industry is right at the heart of the UK’s investment-led recovery and helping the country to develop world-beating businesses, with explosive short-term growth and exciting long-term prospects in the post-Brexit context. The agility and expertise of our growth investors are invaluable assets to our SMEs and we’re proud of the part they play in unlocking the success that facilitates the jobs and prosperity that is so important to the wider economy. What better reason to dress up and congratulate such worthy nominees. I think they’re all champions and applaud each and every one, but you can be sure that the winners will be the best of the best.

This year we’ve seen some very competitive categories and I’m pleased to say that includes our brand new ESG Champion of the Year award and at a time of continuing uncertainty, I couldn’t be more impressed by the quality and breadth of what this industry offers to both investors and investees.

Ingenious deserves hearty congratulations for rising to the top of a very competitive category.

Guy Tolhurst

Managing Director of Intelligent Partnership

Award submissions will now move to a second round of judging from an independent panel of judges. All scores are collated to determine the winner and runners-up, with all finalists receiving a tailored feedback and benchmarking report offering expert insight about areas for improvement.

For further information, please visit growthinvestorawards.com

We are very pleased that the Court of Appeal reversed the findings of the Upper Tier Tribunal and ruled that our film partnerships were, as we have always contended, trading with a view to profit.  In light of this judgment we are considering what further options are open to us in relation to these proceedings.

In a challenging year, and with a record-breaking number of award entries, Ingenious has secured a spot as one of the finalists in the Best BR Investment Manager – Unlisted category of the 2020 Growth Investor Awards, hosted by Intelligent Partnership. Now in their sixth year, the Growth Investor Awards are a landmark event in the investment calendar. With the support of investors, businesses, government and industry bodies, they celebrate the companies and individuals who go above and beyond to support the UK’s growing businesses, and in doing so create jobs, boost economic growth and support innovation.

About the award

Sponsored by Exact Libris, The Best BR Investment Manager – Unlisted award is open to leading investment managers specialising in non-Aim-based investments qualifying for Business Property Relief. Ingenious will compete for the award alongside six other impressive finalists: Blackfinch Investments, Foresight Group, Octopus Investments, Puma Investments, TIME Investments & Triple Point and in true 2020 fashion, the winners in all categories will be announced during a festive virtual Event.

Matt Dickens, Senior Business Development Director, said: “The Growth Investor Awards celebrate companies that go above and beyond to support investors and the UK’s growing businesses and we are very proud that our extra performance and utility has been recognised for in our nomination as finalists in the category of Best Unlisted BR Manager.”

Commenting on the 2020 Growth Investor Awards, Guy Tolhurst, Managing Director of Intelligent Partnership, said: “This has been an exceptional year in so many ways, and, as every finalist can confirm, success has come from being able to adapt and keep moving forward. I’m delighted we can host these awards as an online event, and continue to recognise the investment providers playing such a crucial role in giving the UK’s smaller companies the growth capital and expertise they need.

I would like to congratulate Ingenious – because to reach the finalist stage in such a competitive field of entrants in this category is a huge achievement.”

Award submissions will now move to a second round of judging from an independent panel of judges. All scores are collated to determine the winner and runners-up, with all finalists receiving a tailored feedback and benchmarking report offering expert insight about areas for improvement.

For further information, please visit growthinvestorawards.com

In 2012, a charismatic former music industry executive named Kevin Osborne came to see Patrick McKenna, Founder of Ingenious, about an idea he had developed for establishing a new business and talent incubator with a particular focus on the BAME community.  Kevin had previously run an award winning enterprise called Tribal Tree in north London from 2000 to 2007. This local authority supported project had provided music industry related training and skills classes and, most importantly, a safe and supportive playing and learning environment for hundreds of participants, helping artists like Plan B and N-Dubz to launch their careers and achieve number one hit records.

With his MeWe360 partner, Ameet Shah, an experienced entrepreneur and telecoms executive, who at the time was head of strategy at BT, Kevin proposed to set up a new social enterprise venture with a greater focus on identifying and incubating untapped creative business talent from the BAME community.  He had secured some funding from the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation and conditional funding from Arts Council England (ACE). The ACE money was, however, to be conditional on MeWe’s being able to find matching private sector support. That’s where Ingenious came in.


Over the course of the next few months Kevin and Ameet met on numerous occasions with Ingenious’ Patrick, Duncan Reid and Martin Smith, together with ACE, to work up an agreed business plan. Ingenious committed £100,000 plus a large amount of additional in-kind help, ranging from office accommodation to free consultancy.  This was to be a unique public/private partnership – part philanthropic but commercially framed – and was highly innovative for the time.


MeWe has gone on to achieve considerable success in helping its members to establish and fund new businesses, mainly (but not exclusively) BAME led. It has provided desk space for countless aspiring entrepreneurs and organised scores of music and business development events for its members and supporters.


Kevin has recently written an account of his personal journey as a Black entrepreneur in an article for the Clore Leadership Programme, a government supported leadership development programme. Amongst other things this piece is highly topical in the age of Black Lives Matter.


Ingenious commercial director Duncan Reid stepped down from the MeWe board last year after serving a seven year term.  Martin Smith acted as policy and PR adviser throughout this time, linking MeWe into the Ingenious network of contacts in business and academia.


We are proud of the role that Ingenious has been able to play, initially in getting MeWe off the ground and subsequently helping it on its challenging route to significant achievement and social impact.  This achievement is now celebrated each year through the Deutsche Bank Creative Enterprise Awards (DBACE), which are administered and promoted by MeWe for the Bank.  More information can be found here.


Further information about MeWe can be obtained from Martin Smith; martin.smith@theingeniousgroup.co.uk

As we all manage the challenges raised by Covid-19, here at Ingenious we have put together a Q&A that we hope will help our investors understand our ongoing response to Government advice.

Have Ingenious Group’s operations been impacted by Covid-19 and associated guidance?

Following the Prime Minister’s direction for the UK population to remain at home with no unnecessary travel, Ingenious has taken the decision to close our office in Soho’s Golden Square as of 24 March 2020. However, we would like to reassure all our advisers and investors that we remain fully open for business. Procedures already put in place on Wednesday 18 March ensure there will be no impact on the management of your investments. With the latest advice and office closure, we do ask that you avoid all communications by post and follow further guidance outlined below. If you have any questions regarding either new or existing investments, please just let us know via clientservices@theingeniousgroup.co.uk and we will be delighted to help.

How is Ingenious coordinating its response to Government advice relating to Covid-19?

Our response to the current situation is being led by our CEO, Neil Forster, and his Crisis Management Team, drawn from experts across the business.  We established the Crisis Management Team some time ago to respond to any number of unexpected events which could have a detrimental and lasting impact on our business and on the investments we manage.

This team sets and implements our Business Continuity Plan under the guidance of our Board of Directors.  Our Business Continuity Plan has been regularly tested and will ensure that our business remains very much open and fully functioning during this period of uncertainty through the implementation of remote working.  As you can imagine, we have been in daily contact with each other over the last couple of weeks, anticipating exactly this sort of business outcome.

What steps are Ingenious taking to maintain effective management and stewardship of my investment(s)?

Effective management and stewardship of our clients’ investments is at the forefront of priorities during our response to Government advice. To protect the well-being of the Ingenious team and the communities we operate in, our colleagues will be working remotely over coming weeks and we have taken extensive measures to ensure we can continue to deliver the high level of governance and operational efficiency that our clients are used to.

We have ensured that everyone in our business has access to the hardware and software they require to work remotely for an indefinite period, including team collaboration software and business continuity processes.  We have made arrangements for those of our team that require access to specialist systems whilst working remotely, such as finance systems, client relationships software and other specialist valuation models for example.  We have also been working closely with key business partners, such as our custodians, and have received confirmation of the steps they have taken to ensure continuity of support to you and your clients.  We will remain in heightened contact with all our business partners during this period of uncertainty.

As an investor, are there any steps I need to take in relation to my investments with Ingenious?

Our investors do not need to take any action. Our investment teams will continue to actively monitor all our existing investments and we will keep you informed of any material developments on a specific investment basis.  In the meantime, we would encourage you to use myIngenious to view the latest reporting and commentary for all existing investments. If you do not yet have access to this, please get in touch via clientservices@theingeniousgroup.co.uk and we will be happy to organise this for you.

How do I make an application for a new investment at this time?

We are very much open to receive and process new applications, though encourage investors to do so by email, online documents and electronic payments as outlined below, so we can process your application as quickly as possible. Please avoid hard copy applications and cheques where possible.

*Please edit to reflect the signatory type and insert the full name of the signatory after the statement.

As Government advice continues to change, please refer to this page which will be updated regularly.

If you have any questions, we are here to help.  Please let us know by emailing us at: clientservices@theingeniousgroup.co.uk.

Patrick McKenna, founder of Ingenious, has been selected as a member of the judging panel for this year’s Achates Philanthropy Prize. He will also chair the panel for the individual prize.

The Achates Philanthropy Prize is a national campaign to promote giving to the arts. It celebrates businesses, individuals and trusts that have supported culture for the first time within the last 12 months, with the aim of encouraging cultural organisations to engage more with first-time donors to advance the arts.

There are two awards, one for a business and one for an individual or trust. The winners will be appointed as custodian of one of the two prize sculptures for a year, while their nominating cultural organisation will receive a £5,000 donation from the Achates Philanthropy Foundation.

The 2019 Call for Entries opens on Monday 1 July, and both Awards will be presented at a special event at Rich Mix on Tuesday 19 November 2019.

I am delighted to join the panel of judges for the 2019 Achates Philanthropy Prize and to chair the panel for the individual prize. The overall level of public subsidy going to the arts and culture sector has fallen by some 30% over the last decade. Against this background cultural leaders are becoming ever more entrepreneurial in their approaches to revenue generation, but for most organisations this still leaves a significant funding gap to be filled by private giving. It is therefore excellent that the Achates Prize encourages the emergence of new philanthropists and I’m glad to be a part of it this year.

Patrick McKenna

Founder at Ingenious

For more information and to find out how to apply, please visit: www.achates.org.uk.

We are delighted to announce that we have won Most Impactful Investment at the 2018 Growth Investor Awards. We are also proud to have been a finalist in the non-AIM category for Best BR Investment Manager. The awards celebrate those who successfully deploy investment into high potential businesses and recognise the impact beyond that investment. Winners were announced on Wednesday, 7 November 2018 at the Royal Lancaster Hotel.

Our win for Most Impactful Investment commends our investment in Mindful Education, an award-winning content and technology company specialising in creating innovative, flexible professional courses and apprenticeships. Mindful Education partner with colleges around the UK to deliver pioneering courses that meet the needs of students, government and industry.

The investment made by Ingenious enabled Mindful Education to significantly increase their product range, further expand their sector-leading work in analytics, grow their team size to 34 and increase their marketing capacity – all without compromising on the quality of their content and technology. The company has gone from strength to strength since its inception in 2015 and is now working with 18 colleges around the UK – keeping them on track for their 1,000th learner to start a course in January. Like the judges, we have been impressed by the impact such a young company has had on the sector and wider community.

I am delighted that the work of our investment team and of the Mindful Education team has been recognised with this award. This achievement recognises our extensive sector knowledge and operating experience and how we are able to bring these skills to support the ambitions of fantastic growth businesses.

Neil Forster

CEO at Ingenious

The Ingenious investment team have absolutely transformed our company. Their ability to simultaneously balance high-level strategy and detailed operational implementation has allowed us to improve multiple aspects of how we work. They have supported our vision from day one and their investment has been absolutely pivotal to our growth.

Mark McKenna

Founder and Managing Director at Mindful Education

Ingenious is proud to be the largest sponsor of the award-winning NFTS. Since 2009, we have continued to be the NFTS’s biggest sponsor with both Patrick McKenna and Neil Forster sitting on the Board. Over the years, we have taken the lead on multiple initiatives including a £15 million redevelopment programme, doubling the availability of courses and student places, as well as opening a brand new school in Scotland. The prize consists of a silver-gilt medallion and a Prize Certificate signed by HM The Queen. “The world’s best film school”
The Observer

The world’s best film school

The Observer

Read more

Ingenious, the leading independent investor in the creative industries and backer of hit movies including Avatar and Life of Pi, is to appeal against the judgement of the First-tier Tax Tribunal in its long-running dispute with HMRC over the tax status of its historic film production partnerships which date back as far as 2002.

This follows a recent supplementary decision handed down by Judge Charles Hellier in which he clarified a technical point from his original August 2016 judgement. In this clarification, the judge ruled “with misgivings and reluctance” that the film production costs were capital costs and therefore not tax deductible.

This decision was deliberately mischaracterised in press reports as a failed bid by Ingenious to overturn the August 2016 Tribunal decision. In fact, this latest development was triggered after the Tribunal, having found in favour of the Ingenious partnerships on the Tribunal’s basis of assessment, instructed the parties to agree a common approach in applying the judgement.

Ingenious believes this further decision compounds the errors made by the First-tier Tax Tribunal which simply reinforces the need to take this matter to a higher court. The appeal to the Upper Tribunal is likely to be heard during 2018 and Ingenious are confident of victory.

The Tribunal’s clarification of a technical matter has been presented in the media in a wholly-biased manner which misrepresents the facts and misleads the reader.

We strongly disagree with the Tribunal’s clarification and find it wholly unsatisfactory that the Tribunal reached this decision with “misgivings and reluctance”. We will be appealing the entire decision of the Tribunal.

This follows a recent successful appeal brought by Ingenious against HMRC which led to the judges of the Supreme Court unanimously ruling in favour of Ingenious that HMRC had acted unlawfully in a briefing to the press.

Neil Forster

CEO