March 2022

Dear investor, colleague, portfolio employee or friend of the firm,

Like others, we have all been shocked to witness the devastating events unfolding over the last few weeks. We strongly condemn Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and our thoughts are with all those affected by this incomprehensible tragedy.

In times such as these, we are humbled to see how quickly Hg and our portfolio company employees have responded, many of whom have already organised valuable initiatives and offered generous support for a range of humanitarian relief efforts.

Whilst this is a fast-moving situation and continues to evolve quickly, we wanted to summarise here some of our current actions.

Protecting our investors and supporting the portfolio

We want to provide reassurance that we have made significant efforts to support our portfolio and protect our investors. Hg’s funds have no Russian investors, either today or historically. Our focus is on backing businesses supporting commercial activity in Western Europe and North America. As such our portfolio has negligible revenue exposure to the affected regions. Nevertheless, in a context of tightening sanctions and financial restrictions we will continue to review to ensure we have identified any possibility of exposed parties in our portfolio businesses, based on detailed ultimate beneficial owner tests.

Where applicable, we are actively supporting those portfolio companies with development or support teams in or around the affected regions, helping their employees and operations. We continue to provide our portfolio with detailed cyber assessments and active support against any potential actions that may occur. We continue to organise formal briefing sessions for our CEOs, CFOs, technology and legal communities, to share expertise and ensure we can help anyone across the portfolio who needs advice or support.

Supporting those directly affected

We are all witness to an increasingly serious humanitarian emergency. Hg’s Benevity giving platform has enabled our employees to donate to vetted charities that are delivering essential and life-saving aid to those who need it most. To accelerate this funding, Hg has also donated directly, via our Charity Committee fund, and offered a triple matching scheme for all employee donations. The platform carefully tests and vets a range of charities to ensure that organisations are reputable and will support those who are most in need. We’re grateful to all our colleagues who have given so far, supporting those in need at this time.

Supporting the wider technology community

We are conscious that a number of entrepreneurs and small companies in the technology ecosystem may face reduced orders, payment or product development disruption at a critical time for their business. We will look to publish useful guidance on relevant topics, including cyber protection, to inform and help the community during this time.

We anticipate that this tragedy will continue to evolve quickly. In response we will continue to assess and review our activity to protect our investors, to support those affected and to help our community.

Thank you

The Leadership Team and Partners of Hg