The board of industrial REIT SEGRO will waive a quarter of their salaries and fees for the next three months to bolster cash in a £10m community fund.
The SEGRO Centenary Fund, due to be launched next month as part of the firm’s 100-year anniversary celebrations, has been brought forward so it can be used to help support communities in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The fund has a 10-year life and will support various charities within the local communities in which SEGRO has assets. However, the majority of the first year’s funding of more than £1m will be allocated to projects which provide emergency relief and help address the longer-term impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.
In the immediate term, those funds will be used to help charities provide basic necessities, such as food, medicines and household essentials, and to support other initiatives which will help alleviate the impact of the crisis. In the longer term, it will focus on community projects which help young and disadvantaged people into employment and will create community spaces to support people’s training, health and wellbeing.
Chief executive David Sleath said that charitable giving was part of SEGRO’s DNA and that the Centenary Fund would build on and extend the company’s long-standing approach to community engagement and support.
As part of the establishment of the fund and to support the current situation, all SEGRO board members have agreed to waive 25% of their salaries and fees for the next three months. This reduction in their pay packets will be used to provide additional finance to the Centenary Fund.
“The SEGRO Centenary Fund is one way of recognising the vital role our communities have played in our success over the last 100 years and making sure we give something back by helping thousands of people now and over the next decade,” said Sleath.
“Many of the areas where we invest are characterised by high levels of unemployment and social deprivation. We understand the long-term need to ensure people from all backgrounds have the skills, training and opportunities to secure meaningful employment. These are the areas where we are focusing the SEGRO Centenary Fund and where we feel we can make a significant difference to people’s lives.”
The majority of the SEGRO Centenary Fund investment will be administered via partnerships with community foundations in London, Berkshire, Coventry, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Hertfordshire, to help identify the charities which can make immediate and meaningful interventions in their communities. A substantial contribution will also be made via the LandAid Emergency Covid-19 Fund.
Sleath said that more than 30 potential projects had already been proposed as potential beneficiaries of the fund.
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