Thriving Investments strengthens Board with four new non-executive director appointments

Thriving Investments, (formerly known as PfP Capital), the socially conscious fund manager focused on the UK Living sector, has appointed Julie Hirigoyen, Phil Clark, Audrey Klein and Tim Saunders as non-executive directors. 

With a wealth of relevant experience, Julie, Phil, Audrey and Tim join existing non-executive directors Claire Ainsworth and Adam Davis on the board and will support Thriving Investments in achieving its ambition to deliver 20,000 homes over the next decade.

Julie Hirigoyen is an ESG and sustainability expert, with over 25 years of experience working across private, public and third sector organisations. Earlier this year she stepped down as Chief Executive of the UK Green Building Council after eight years. Prior to that she was Head of Sustainability at JLL, following nearly a decade as Joint Managing Director of Upstream, the then leading real estate sustainability services practice. In 2023, Julie was appointed as a senior advisor to Systemiq and special advisor for CBRE.

Phil Clark has over 30 years’ experience in senior and non-executive roles at a number of established businesses in the residential, commercial, regeneration, infrastructure and energy sectors. He was instrumental in the creation of Igloo Regeneration, the leading regenerative developer of sustainable mixed-use neighbourhoods for communities, which was acquired by Thriving Investments in 2023.

Audrey Klein brings 25 years of global real estate experience. She is currently a Partner at Spencer House Partners, prior to which she was Managing Director and co-founder the European business for Park Hill Real Estate, a subsidiary of Blackstone. She currently sits on the boards of Elix, Planet Smart City and SFO Capital Partners, chairing the ESG committee of the latter two. 

Tim Saunders co-founded what was then PfP Capital in 2017. He is also the founder and former Chief Executive of Touchstone Property Management, which under his leadership grew into one of the UK’s largest property management businesses. He is currently Non-Executive Chairman of Cheverton.

Julie, Phil, Audrey and Tim join existing board members Richard Gregory (Chair), Greg Reed, Cath Webster, John Tatham, Claire Ainsworth, and Adam Davies. The appointments follow the company’s rebrand from PfP Capital to Thriving Investments earlier this month. The new name is more closely aligned with the company’s track record and ambitions of creating thriving communities and delivering large-scale regeneration projects, with sustainable, high-quality homes at their centre, via a range of investment platforms and tenures.  

Cath Webster, CEO of Thriving Investments, commented: “Our four new non-executive directors bring unrivalled expertise, experience and networks gleaned from decades both founding and leading some of the best businesses in the real estate and ESG space. We are thrilled that they are joining us on our journey to create thriving communities and deliver large-scale regeneration projects, and look forward to the guidance of Julie, Phil, Audrey and Tim alongside our existing non-executive directors as we scale up our activities. We would also like to thank retiring non-executive directors, Stephen Hazell Smith and Rob Thomas, for their significant input over the past six years.”

Richard Gregory, Chair of Thriving Investments, added: “I'm excited by the quality of our new board and by the market potential of our unique fund management and specialist regeneration platform. With the support of Places for People Group, we are well positioned to offer full-service opportunities to private and public sector investors and make a significant contribution to UK housing.”