Baillie Gifford has been endorsed by the board of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society after the executive committee voted to continue its partnership.
In an interview with The Guardian, Shoan McCarthy, chief executive of the society, said the board had held a “really detailed discussion” over the investment manager’s support, after the fund group became the target of protestors over its limited investments in fossil fuels.
Earlier this month, Baillie Gifford pulled its sponsorship deals with the Cambridge, Stratford, Wigtown and Henley literary festivals.
It followed a media frenzy after the Hay Festival when organisers drafted in armed officers to handle activists protesting the group’s sponsorship of the event.
However, today’s endorsement by the board of the Fringe Society is a major boost for the investment company that has made a name for itself as a supporter of the arts scene in the UK.
Speaking to The Guardian, McCarthy said the society was “enormously grateful” for the financial support it received from the investment group, which enables many of its community engagement activities.
In the article, the CEO said arts organisers were struggling to be “all things to all people” in the current climate.
At the end of last month, Baillie Gifford said it was terminating its 20 year partnership with the Edinburgh Book Festival.
In a statement, Nick Thomas, partner at Baillie Gifford, said: “Our collaboration with the Edinburgh International Book Festival, spanning decades, was rooted in our shared interest in making Edinburgh a thriving and culturally vibrant place to live and work.
“In recent years we have been proud to support the Schools’ and Children’s programmes, providing free books and creating opportunities for young readers to meet authors.”
Thomas said that activists’ “anonymous campaign” of coercion and misinformation has put intolerable pressure on authors and the festival community.
He added: “We step back with the hope that the festival will thrive this year and into the future. We hold the activists squarely responsible for the inhibiting effect their action will have on funding for the arts in this country.
“Baillie Gifford is a long-term investor with high ethical standards and a complete focus on doing what is right by our clients. The assertion that we have significant amounts of money in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is offensively misleading.”
The company acknowledged that it is a “large investor in several multinational technology companies, including Amazon, NVIDIA, and Meta.
“Demanding divestment from these global companies, used by millions of people around the world, is unreasonable and serves no purpose,” Thomas added.
“Much as it would be unreasonable to demand authors boycott Instagram or stop selling books on Amazon. Nor is Baillie Gifford a significant fossil fuel investor. Only 2% of our clients’ money is invested in companies with some business related to fossil fuels. We invest far more in companies helping drive the transition to clean energy. We remain committed to contributing positively to our community through philanthropic support.”