It’s rare to find a listed company that, as well as being driven by the profit motive, has a philanthropic element to its business model. One such is Syncona, a £1.46 billion investor in life sciences that donates a small portion of its returns each year to charities including the Institute of Cancer Research and the Alzheimer’s Society. But that doesn’t mean the company is a soft touch; in fact, it’s pretty good at making money.
Syncona was created in its present form in 2016 through the merger of Battle Against Cancer Investment Trust, a listed vehicle, and Syncona Partners, a life sciences investor set up in 2012 with £250 million in backing from the Wellcome Foundation. A constituent of the FTSE 250, its aim