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Who is lobbying to raise taxes in the UK? (Part 4)

Yes, really!

Where does Thirty Percy's funding come from?

Thirty Percy Foundation's funding ultimately originates from inherited family wealth, managed through a purpose-driven single-family office called Skagen Conscience Capital. It is not an endowed foundation with a permanent investment pot that generates ongoing income; instead, it operates as a spend-down (or "time-limited") foundation that distributes its finite resources and plans to close in 2030.

Primary Source: The Owl Trust and Family Wealth

• The foundation is funded by a charitable purpose trust known as The Owl Trust, which provided an initial grant (payable over time) to establish and support Thirty Percy.
• This wealth traces back to the family of Louisa Mann (née Anna Louisa Philip Mann), who serves as Chair of Trustees, and her siblings. Louisa has publicly described how she and her siblings were "plunged into the role of stewarding significant wealth" after their father's death about 15 years ago. She and family members (including connections to Mark Philip-Sorensen) are involved in both the foundation and the family office.
• Skagen Conscience Capital (co-founded or directed by family members like Mark Philip-Sorensen) is the vehicle that handles the family's investments and responsible wealth stewardship. Thirty Percy was "borne out of" this family office to formalize and expand their philanthropy, with the office initially providing staff and administrative support.

Recent Income Breakdown (Year Ending 31 March 2025)

According to Charity Commission data:

• Total income: £6,053,051
  • Donations and legacies: £5.91 million (the vast majority — almost entirely from the family-linked trust/structure)
  • Investments: £143,220
  • Negligible amounts from other sources

Expenditure was focused on grants and charitable activities (£5.6 million). No significant public fundraising or external donors are reported; the "donations" are internal transfers from the family's philanthropic structures.

Approach to Wealth and Spending

The family explicitly views this as inherited wealth they are choosing to deploy differently — experimenting with "redefining philanthropy," supporting changemakers directly, and addressing systemic issues like economic rebalancing and tax justice. They emphasize "holding power lightly," unrestricted grants, and spending down the resources rather than preserving the foundation indefinitely. Since 2018, they have invested over £26 million, with more committed before closure.

In short, Thirty Percy is financed almost exclusively by one wealthy UK-based family's inherited assets, channeled through their family office and a dedicated charitable trust. It maintains a relatively low public profile on the exact origins or scale of the underlying wealth (common for family offices), but the connection is clear from official accounts and statements by Louisa Mann. For the most current details, the Charity Commission filings for charity number 1177514 provide the audited financial statements.

Who is Louisa Mann?

Louisa Mann (full name: Anne Louisa Philip Mann) is a British philanthropist, wealth steward, and Chair of Trustees of the Thirty Percy Foundation. She is a member of a wealthy family that inherited significant assets from her father, a successful entrepreneur, and has become known in progressive philanthropy circles for her unconventional, redistribution-oriented approach to inherited wealth.

Background and Family

• She is one of four children (including siblings Anette, Christina, and Mark Philip-Sorensen) from her father’s first marriage to Ingrid.
• Her father was Jørgen Philip-Sørensen (also known as Jorgen Philip Sorensen), a prominent Danish-British businessman and founder of the international security company Group 4 (later part of G4S). He built a substantial fortune through his entrepreneurial ventures.
• When her father died around 15 years ago (circa 2010–2011), Louisa and her siblings were suddenly thrust into stewarding the family’s significant wealth. Prior to that, she had largely focused on raising her four sons and was somewhat distanced from the family business.

Role in Philanthropy and Wealth Management

• Thirty Percy Foundation: Louisa serves as Chair of Trustees. She was instrumental in establishing the foundation (charity number 1177514, set up in 2018/2019) as a vehicle to formalize and expand the family’s giving. It operates as a time-limited “spend-down” foundation that plans to close in 2030, emphasizing bold, unrestricted grants to changemakers, radical experimentation in philanthropy, and addressing systemic issues like economic inequality, climate, and tax justice.
• Skagen Conscience Capital: She has been a director of this single-family office (which manages the family’s investments and purpose-driven wealth stewardship). The family office supported the early operations of Thirty Percy. She stepped down as a director of the company in late 2024.
• Her philosophy: Louisa openly describes questioning traditional “wealth protection mindsets” in both wealth management and philanthropy. She critiques conventional approaches as potential “comfort blankets” that can justify inequality and has advocated for more redistributive, experimental models — including support for campaigns like wealth taxation. She frames her work as reimagining the legacy of her inheritance rather than preserving it indefinitely.

Public Profile

She is often described in philanthropic spaces as the “go-to aunty in the wealth holder space,” noted for her “big heart and rebellious streak.” She has written and spoken about her personal journey — from hesitation about setting up a foundation to challenging norms around individualism, competition, and risk aversion in giving. She contributes to discussions on narrative change in philanthropy and has participated in events focused on wealth holders rejecting or rethinking “extreme wealth.”

In summary, Louisa Mann is a key figure in a family that inherited wealth from a major security industry entrepreneur. She has channeled that into progressive, time-bound philanthropy through Thirty Percy, emphasizing innovation, direct support for activists, and systemic economic reform over traditional models of wealth preservation. She maintains a relatively low public profile outside specialist philanthropy and wealth-holder networks.

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Who is lobbying to raise taxes in the UK? (Part 3)

What is Thirty Percy?

Thirty Percy Foundation (charity number 1177514) is a small, independent UK philanthropic foundation established in 2019. It describes itself as an organization that "invests differently," aiming to redefine philanthropy by focusing on bold, experimental approaches to funding social and environmental change.

Mission and Approach

Its stated goal is to contribute to the "future security and wellbeing of our world" through sustainable development, education on environmental issues, and support for changemakers. Unlike traditional foundations that often fund specific projects with heavy restrictions, Thirty Percy emphasizes:

• Unrestricted, flexible funding — often direct grants to individuals (e.g., activists, artists, thinkers, and social justice leaders) rather than organizations or rigid programs. Typical individual grants range from £70,000 to £150,000 over 2–3 years.
• Collaboration and innovation — It positions itself as a partner to grantees, experimenting with new models of giving, "holding power lightly," and challenging conventional philanthropy norms.
• Focus areas — Include rebalancing economies, racial justice, climate and environmental work, new economics, place-based initiatives, and tax justice/wealth taxation. It has supported campaigns for taxing extreme wealth and reforming tax structures for the super-rich.

The foundation was born out of the Skagen Conscience Capital family office (a purpose-driven wealth management entity). It emerged from a family’s inherited wealth, with early leadership and exploration involving Louisa Mann (current Chair of Trustees) and others in the family circle. Trustees and team members often come from backgrounds in wealth, law, activism, and social change.

Scale and Plans

• Since around 2018, it has invested over £26 million, with £8 million more committed and plans to deploy an additional £11 million before closing.
• It has announced it will intentionally close in 2030. The rationale is to spend down its resources for maximum immediate impact, avoid perpetuating institutional philanthropy indefinitely, and model a "generative ending" that leaves behind tools, knowledge, partnerships, and provocations for others.
• Recent income (year ending March 2025) was around £6 million, mostly from donations and legacies, with charitable spending of about £5.6 million.

Connection to Tax Justice UK

In spring 2024, Thirty Percy began funding in the UK tax justice space. It provided £400,000 in flexible core funding (2024–2028) plus an additional £40,000 for strategy development — one of the largest single commitments to the organization. This aligns with Thirty Percy’s interest in economic rebalancing and supporting reforms to tax the wealthiest more heavily.

In summary, Thirty Percy is a progressive, time-limited foundation that uses family wealth to experiment with more radical, people-centered philanthropy, with a particular recent interest in tax reform and inequality issues. Its website (thirtypercy.org) and Medium blog ("Thirty Percy — the final years") provide more on its philosophy, grants, and reflections. Like many such funders, it maintains a relatively low public profile on exact family details while being transparent about its grant-making approach.