Based in London, Letheren (pictured) will report to Rathbones multi-asset portfolios fund manager, Will McIntosh-Whyte and head of multi-asset investing, David Coombs.

Previously, she worked for six years in equity research in European consumer staples for RBC Capital Markets. Letheren, who is a CFA Charterholder, was also co-lead in RBC’s internal DE&I committee.

“We are very pleased to welcome Emma to the multi-asset team where her expertise in consumer staples and her experience in equity research will be a valuable enhancement to our existing capability,” David Coombs, fund manager and head of multi-asset investing, Rathbones Asset Management, said.

This latest hire follows that of Sally Hoang, fixed income analyst, earlier this year.

Maven Capital Partners
Maven Capital Partners (“Maven”), has appointed Paul Davis as investment manager to lead on deal origination and execution,

In particular, he will be concentrating on deals and opportunities for MEIF II Debt Finance East and South East Midlands, part of the Midlands Engine Investment Fund II, provided by the British Business Bank, the firm said in a statement.

Davis will lead on sourcing and executing deals in the South East Midlands, as Maven continues to back ambitious and entrepreneurial companies across the region. A local to the area, he will work with businesses across Northampton, Milton Keynes, Bedfordshire and Luton, supporting SMEs with their growth plans.

Davis has more than 17 years’ experience within the business and commercial banking sector. Prior to joining Maven, he worked for several major high street banks and alternative lenders including Barclays, Allica Bank, Metro Bank and The Co-operative Bank. His deal experience spans a wide variety of industry sectors, particularly in the manufacturing, business services, food and beverage, and professional services sectors.

“The response to MEIF II has been fantastic and we are exceptionally busy so Paul’s appointment will help in continuing Maven’s success in identifying and supporting high-potential businesses across the East and South East Midlands,” Jonathan Lowe, partner for regional debt funds at Maven, said.

Gresham House
, a specialist alternative asset manager, has appointed Eoin McDonald as global director of natural capital, based in its London office.

McDonald (pictured), who has more than 12 years of experience in institutional natural capital investment, will be responsible for developing Gresham House’s natural capital solutions strategy globally.

Most recently, he served as managing director at specialist investment management firm GreenAgCapital, where he developed investment strategies and led fundraising across vertically integrated investments within the food and agriculture sector.

Prior to this, he led the US portfolio management team at Nuveen Natural Capital’s farmland division, managing investments, the firm’s ESG strategy, and spearheading new product initiatives. McDonald has also been a portfolio manager at Insight Investment, a subsidiary of Bank of New York Mellon, where he oversaw the performance and management of a global farmland fund after starting his career as an analyst at Citigroup.

“Eoin brings a wealth of expertise in managing institutional natural capital portfolios and has a proven track record of investment solutions in agriculture, forestry, and sustainable land use. His ambition will be instrumental as we continue to scale our natural capital platform and meet the growing demand for sustainable investments,” Tony Dalwood, CEO at Gresham House, said. “In a survey we conducted last year, we found that 73 per cent of UK asset owners would invest in natural capital to support climate adaptation, and over 50 per cent are either already investing in natural capital or plan to do so in the next 18 months.”

Gresham House, a top 10 natural capital manager globally, which has invested in forestry for over 40 years, has built a strong reputation in sustainable productive forestry investing. In 2021, Gresham House’s British Sustainable Infrastructure strategy invested in Environment Bank Ltd, which creates landscape-scale habitat banks to tackle the critical issue of biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse. With growing investor awareness of natural capital's potential to generate resilient and impactful returns, the firm anticipates that this asset class will emerge as a major global investment trend in the coming years.